WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Dr. Raj Shah presented USAID’s 2011 Global Development Alliance Excellence Award to “Helping Babies Breathe (HBB).” HBB is a partnership with Laerdal Medical, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Save the Children, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

Helping Babies Breathe seeks to reduce neonatal mortality by increasing the availability of resuscitation to manage newborn asphyxia during birth. Since its launch in June 2010, this partnership has mobilized $13.3 million in cash and in-kind contributions from partners – leveraging $6 for every U.S. dollar invested. The partnership has introduced Helping Babies Breathe in 27 countries, convening stakeholder meetings and training over 18,000 health providers, and has reduced asphyxia-related neonatal mortality by over 50 percent among 7,000 newborns in a pilot study in Tanzania.

Laerdal Medical’s CEO Tore Laerdal said, “The program is focused on the essential steps for helping babies breathe and uses effective educational methods. But to bring true innovation, a third factor is also required; efficient local implementation. And that is where this global development alliance has already proved to make a great contribution." The Alliance seeks to support countries in expanding high quality resuscitation services as part of a broader package of essential newborn care, and offers evidence-based training, high quality, affordable resuscitation equipment, and technical assistance.

Receiving the award on behalf of their respective entities was Tore Laerdal, Managing Director, Laerdal Medical; Dr. William Keenan, Executive Director for the International Pediatric Association, American Academy of Pediatrics; Charles MacCormack, President and CEO Emeritus of Save the Children; and Dr. Linda Wright, Program Director Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

The award was presented during a day-long Partnership Forum on the Strategic Value of Connecting Business and Development that USAID is hosting as part of the Agency’s 50th anniversary. This year also marks the tenth anniversary of USAID’s Global Development Alliance program, which the OECD recently acknowledged as a global leader in public-private partnerships.

For more information about USAID’s programs, please visit www.usaid.gov.