Low-Cost Respiratory Support: Reducing Early Neonatal Death in Rural Malawi (Transition to scale)

Rice University, the University of Malawi, Baylor College of Medicine, the Ministry of Health, and 3rd Stone Design will partner to: (1) produce clinic-ready bCPAP systems and submit paperwork for regulatory approval; (2) implement a novel campaign to educate mothers about the availability of life-saving treatment for RDS and to overcome fear of treatments involving tubing and oxygen; (3) scale-up bCPAP country-wide to all central and district hospitals in Malawi; train nursing, clinical and technical staff to use and maintain bCPAP; track impact on neonatal mortality from RDS; and (4) perform an economic evaluation for the use of bCPAP to support global scale-up.