New guide on respectful maternal and newborn care
August 11, 2025
A new implementation guide to help countries provide respectful, dignified care and eliminate mistreatment across maternal and newborn health services
Country action
Zambia
Photo © 2022 UNICEF/ Kinny Siakachoma
Registered Nurse assisting a mother setup for Kangaroo Mother Care at the University Teaching Hospital.
Every Woman Every Newborn in Zambia
Download the full profile with additional key demographics, progress against milestones, and more.
This profile was developed in May 2023, using data from 2018-2023.
Photo © 2009 UNICEF/ Christine Nesbitt
Vincent Mumba, newly born, lies on his mother’s chest in the labour ward of the Chelstone Clinic. Martha Mumba, his mother, is HIV-positive and participates in the PMTCT programme at the clinic. Vincent will receive prophylactic ARVs twice a day for the first seven days after birth and, at six weeks, will be tested for HIV.
National mortality targets
Maternal mortality ratio
100 per 100,000 live births by 2026
Stillbirth rate
12 per 1,000 live births by 2026
Neonatal mortality rate
12 per 1,000 live births by 2026
Progress to meet the national maternal, newborn mortality and stillbirth reduction targets
Photo © 2023 UNICEF/ Tiwine Muchipa
Mother Mary Zulu (28 years old) and Registered Nurse Faides Zulu (26 years old)
Progress to meet Every Woman Every Newborn Everywhere coverage targets
MNH Acceleration Plan highlights
- Adopt and implement guidelines for intrapartum care.
- Build the capacity of primary health care providers and community-based volunteers across prioritized facilities and districts on community-based newborn care.
- Build the capacity of data managers, programme and facility staff to record and report quality of care indicators.
- Integrate reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health intervention packages in the national strategy for universal health care.
- Orient and engage Parliamentarians, traditional leaders and local authorities on Emergency obstetric and newborn care.
Photo © 2023 UNICEF/ Tiwine Muchipa
28 year old mother Mary Zulu with her newborn baby at St Francis Hospital Kangaroo Mother Care unit.
Photo © 2022 UNICEF/ Kinny Siakachoma
Kangaroo Mother Care
Quality of care in Zambia
As part of its efforts to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and stillbirths, Zambia is taking steps to improve the quality of maternal and newborn health. These include:
- Build capacity of health care providers from hard to reach, prioritized facilities on post-partum haemorrhage prevention and management.
- Conduct community meetings to review quality of care for reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health
- Finalize maternal and perinatal death surveillance and response (MPDSR) guidelines and training materials; Build capacity in MPDSR for neonatal intensive care units providers.
News and events
New online course on caring for preterm and low birthweight babies
July 30, 2025
Free educational course on “Immediate Kangaroo Mother Care for Preterm and Low Birthweight Babies.”
The role of public-private partnerships in rethinking the future of maternal and child survival in Africa
July 21, 2025
PATH is organizing a virtual event to spotlight the role of public-private partnerships in unlocking additional resources for health in Africa.
Resources
Compendium on respectful maternal and newborn care
August 7, 2025
The compendium supports efforts to end mistreatment and achieve respectful maternal and newborn care. It is published by WHO together with UNFPA, UNICEF and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP), with support from Jhpiego and the MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership programme.
Maternal and Newborn Health Fund Annual Impact Report 2024
July 16, 2025
UNFPA released the Maternal and Newborn Health Fund Annual Impact Report 2024. Since 2010, countries supported by the Maternal and Newborn Health Fund have reduced maternal mortality by 40%, nearly twice the global rate, contributing to avert an estimated 75,000 maternal deaths. The Maternal and Newborn Health Fund is UNFPA’s flagship initiative to expand equitable access to quality reproductive, maternal, and newborn healthcare.
Programme manager’s handbook for maternal, child and adolescent health
July 2, 2025
The World Health Organization maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health e-handbook is a new resource for Ministry of health programme managers. It offers step-by-step guidance for implementing effective health programmes, from planning to monitoring and evaluation, with concise overviews of key activities and interventions along the life course.
The e-handbook references WHO documents, to ensure that programme managers have access to evidence-based strategies and best practices tailored to various contexts.
This e-handbook contains a prioritised list of documents; for a full list of documents go to the resource library for maternal, newborn, child, adolescent health and ageing: https://uhcc.who.int/mca/