UNICEF: Child Survival Campaign "Newborn Project" (2018-2019)

UNICEF: Child Survival Campaign “Newborn Project” (2018-2019)

Mother Masibiry Koné, 34, holds her daughter Malado Diarra, 16 days old, at the community health center of Koumatou, Mali on 8 March 2018. Malado was born without complications and is still in good health. Her youngest sibling contracted malaria as a toddler, but thanks to the clean water and hygiene trainings provided by UNICEF, she’s less at risk of getting this dangerous disease. In Mali, the neonatal mortality rate is 31 per 1,000 live births (2016, IGME data). Sikasso region has a neonatal mortality rate of 35 per 1,000 live births – slightly above the national average. Most newborns die from perinatal asphyxia, neonatal infections or prematurity. These deaths are largely preventable. UNICEF became active in Mali in 1986, but still faces steep challenges – specifically, the ratio of qualified health personnel per inhabitant is too low. In Koumantou, for example, there is only one doctor, trained by UNICEF, to serve the entire population. One midwife, one nurse, three health workers and two vaccination agents assist him. In addition, Mali has one of the world’s highest child marriage rates. Around one in seven girls marries before the age of 15, and 71 per cent by 18. Also, 91 per cent of women aged 15–49 is circumcised, increasing the risk of deadly infections – most of them before the girls reach the age of 5. Child mothers’ babies are more vulnerable: If a mother is under 18, her baby is more than twice as likely to die than an infant born to an adult mother (older than 19). But thanks to UNICEF interventions, most recently, many lives have been saved – in Koumantou and Bougouni, neonatal mortality numbers have gone down. © Ilvy Njiokiktjien / VII.

the Project

In 2018, The VII Foundation collaborated with UNICEF on its Child Survival Campaign to raise awareness about the million babies who die on their very first day despite the existence of simple solutions that can save them.

For this UNICEF commission, The VII Foundation conceived a concept whereby newborns in small villages and communities in Africa, South America, and Asia were photographed in the style of a formal studio portrait, the kind popular in high-income countries. Using studio lights and simple backdrops, babies were photographed in their mothers’ arms by contributing photographer Ilvy Njiokiktjien, who trained specifically for the assignment with the leading baby portrait photographer in the Netherlands.

Njiokiktjien traveled to Peru, Mali, Mongolia, and Bangladesh in a logistically complex schedule to collect stories and photo and video portraits of mothers and their newborn babies. Each baby has their own story of survival that shows how solutions such as clean water, a tiny breathing mask, and breastfeeding helped save their lives and other babies like them.

A year later, in 2019, Anush Babajanyan revisited these babies as toddlers. The updated portraits reveal what a beautiful difference a year can make when mothers and children are given access to quality health care. This project started as a potentially challenging assignment on effectively educating about infant healthcare. It discovered a beautiful yet simple solution that resonated with the audience.

(Second from right) Mother Delgermurun Tsolomon, 32, holds her with her baby Sugarmaa, eight days old, outside her ger in the Alag-Erdene area in Mongolia on March 1, 2018. She is pictured with her husband, Batyargal Pureuyav, 33, and her son, Batyargal Bumbayar, 3, and her daughter, Batyargal Margadma, 4.

Massibiri Koné, smiling, cradles her 16-day-old baby, Malado Diarra, in her arms near a UNICEF-supported water point at the Community Health Centre in Koumatou. Mali, March 8, 2018.

One-day-old twins Foune Tangara and Wassa Tangara are cradled by their mother, Fatoumata Traore (hands visible), at the Reference Health Centre in Bougouni. Mali, March 7, 2018.

Mother Bayarmaa (30) with her baby Uuriin Tsotmon (2 weeks) in her living room in Murun, Mongolia, on the 1st of March 2018. Next to her are her daughter Gunjidmaa Nyambat (4) and grandmother Delger Chimid (61).

Hawa Diawara (foreground), 18, cradles her 24-day-old baby, Youssouf Sanogo, in her arms and smiles outside the Community Health Centre in Koumatou. “I was so happy when Youssouf arrived – he is my first baby,” Hawa said. Mali, 8 March 2018.

Fatoumata Traore, smiling, sits with her 1-day-old twins, Foune Tangara and Wassa Tangara, cradled in her lap, at the Reference Health Centre in Bougouni. A midwife, Assa Sidibé, stands smiling behind them, next to UNICEF-provided refrigerators containing vaccines. Mali, March 7, 2018.

Mother Sumona Akhtar Juthie, 21, holds her 47-day-old daughter Muskan alongside nurse Shipra Das, 22, in the SCANU at the Special Care Newborn Units (SCANU) of the Institute of Child and Mother Health in Dhaka, Bangladesh, February 17, 2018.

Mother Celia Virginia Flores Mamani, 37, holds her seven-day-old daughter, Priscilla Solamita Meza Flores, who was born at the health center in Yaurisque District and pictured with health promoter Adeláida Huaman Cruz (right) in the post-delivery room, Paruro Province, Peru, February 10, 2018.

Mother Tugszaya Chuluunbaatar, 25, holds her unnamed twin babies, both two days old, in the health center in Murun, Mongolia, on 28 February 2018.

Mother Kadidia Sangaré (37) holds her newborn daughter, Nahawa Kone, ten days old, at the Reference Health Center in Bougouni, Mali, March 7, 2018.

Mother Tugszaya Chuluunbaatar, 25, holds her unnamed twin babies, both two days old, in the health center in Murun, Mongolia, on February 28, 2018.

Sleeping 24-day-old baby, Youssouf Sanogo, is cradled by his mother, Hawa Diawara (hands partially visible), 18, at the Community Health Centre in Koumatou. “I was so happy when Youssouf arrived – he is my first baby,” Hawa said. Mali, March 8, 2018.

Mother Bayarmaa with her baby Uuriin Tsotmon, two weeks old, in her living room in Murun, Mongolia, on March 1, 2018.

Liam Aaron Cóndor Anchaya, 1, pictured at the Yaurisque Health Center in the Yaurisque district, Paruro Province, Peru. April 11, 2019.
Malado Diarra, 1, plays in the Community Health Centre of Koumatou, in Mali, on April 29, 2019.
Youssouf Sanogo, 1, plays while held by his father, Abubajar Sanogo, 36, at the Community Health Centre of Koumatou, in Mali, on April 29, 2019.
Adriahok Naushin, 1, (left) and her twin sister Afriahok Naurin, play, held by their uncle and grandmother, at the Baluakandie Health and Family Welfare Centre in Gazaria, Munshiganj, in Bangladesh, on June 27, 2019.
Ayedatujannah Tahiat, 1, in her family apartment in Shonir Akhra, Matuail, Naryanjganj, Bangladesh. June 26, 2019.
Sugarmaa Batjargal, 1, pictured at a clinic in Alag-Erdene district, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia. May 21, 2019. Sugarmaa Batjargal was born on February 23, 2018.
Uuriintsolmon, 1, pictured in Murun, Khuvsgul province, Mongolia, on May 20, 2019.
Malado Diarra, 1, plays in the Community Health Centre of Koumatou, in Mali. Malado was born without complications and in good health on February 20, 2018.
Priscilla Solamita Meza Flores, 1, at the Yaurisque Health Center in Yaurisque district, Paruro province, Peru. April 10, 2019.

MVP public exhibition of Danny Wilcox Frazier's work in Leona, Senegal. The exhibition was made possible by the VII Foundation, Blue Chip Foundation, and United Photo Industries. © Danny Wilcox Frazier / VII

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BO City, SIERRA LEONE - December 12th, 2018: Scenes from the neonatal care unit at the regional hospital in the city of Bo, Southern province of Sierra Leone. The neonatal care has been fully furnished and equipped thanks to UNICEF support. Reducing maternal deaths and infant mortality is one of the priorities of the UNICEF operation in Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone ranks very high with extremely high child and maternal mortality. Poeverty, disease outbreaks and devastating recent civil war are major contributors to the child and maternal mortality. ©Photo by Franco Pagetti/VII for UNICEF

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