Every Preemie: SCALE (Scaling, Catalyzing, Advocating, Learning, and Evidence-Driven)

A health worker holds an infant
Photo credit: Amy Fowler/USAID
Global distribution of neonatal deaths, by cause, 2013

Graphic of a chart.<br /> Other 8%<br /> Congenital abnormalities 10%<br /> Diarrhea 1%<br /> Tetanus 2%<br /> Pneumonia 5%<br /> Sepsis 15%<br /> Intrapartum-related complications 24%<br /> Preterm birth complications 35%

Note: Estimates are rounded, and therefore may not sum to 100%.
Source: WHO-CHERG provisional estimates 2014 [PDF, 266KB].

Preterm birth complications account for 35 percent of neonatal deaths and 15 percent of all under-5 deaths. As part of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) effort to end preventable child deaths, this award aims to focus on prevention and management of preterm birth and low birthweight (LBW) complications by significantly increasing global uptake of under-utilized interventions and commodities.

The strategic objective of SCALE is to catalyze global uptake of preterm/low birthweight interventions, overcome bottlenecks and significantly increase coverage to decrease newborn mortality.

Expected outcomes

  1. Improved translation of evidence into action through consolidation of evidence and focused implementation research to advance global understanding of how to implement and scale up preterm/LBW services and commodities.
  2. Increased capacity of local, national and global entities (health care providers, community groups) to scale up and sustain the utilization of high impact interventions.
  3. Increased prioritization of preterm/low birth weight with in-country decisionmakers and policymakers and other stakeholders at global and national levels.

Strategic approaches

  1. A core package/toolkit of preterm materials that will be offered to all USAID-supported countries.
  2. A country demonstration package for up to four countries that will serve as learning laboratories for scaling up high impact preterm interventions.
  3. A custom package to respond to requests from countries for specialized technical assistance.

This is a five year award from September 2014 to August 2019. The five-year preterm birth cooperative agreement has been awarded to a consortium of partners comprising Project Concern International (PCI), the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth (GAPPS), and the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM).

Read the press release to learn more.