Suraj Bhattarai, Pritha Adhikari, Kalpana Subedi, Anjila Ghimire, Simon B. Drysdale, Kirsty Le Doare, Gaurav Kwatra, Paul T. Heath
In an ongoing effort to improve global pediatric outcomes, the burden of maternal and neonatal infections remains a formidable obstacle, with South Asia bearing a disproportionately high burden 1 , 2 , 3 . According to the latest Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD 2021), South Asia reported 3 million stillbirths (≥22 weeks’ gestation) in 2021 alone, contributing almost one-third of the total stillbirths worldwide 4 . A South Asian cohort study reported total perinatal deaths (stillbirths and early neonatal deaths) reaching as high as 61 per 1000 births 5 . Similarly, the region reportedly contributes 36% of global newborn deaths, with nearly 4 million cases of neonatal sepsis and other infections annually 6 . In Nepal, the stillbirth rate (≥22 weeks’ gestation) is roughly 15 per 1000 births and neonatal mortality rate is 21 per 1000 live births 7 , 8 .