Royal Philips announced a major partnership with the Ministry of Health & Population and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to reduce maternal and newborn mortality rates by 50% in the country’s health facilities over the next five years, especially in remote areas. The three partners are working together to develop a large-scale ‘Emergency obstetric and newborn care’ (EmONC) program that will reach more than 500,000 women and 70,000 newborns, improving access to high quality and affordable maternal, neonatal and child healthcare. The first phase of the program will target five districts: Talangai, Ouesso-Mokeko-Pikounda-Kabo, Sembe-Souanke, Zanaga-Bambama and Sibiti-Komono. The main objective of the program is to manage high-risk pregnancies and complications in healthcare facilities better by training midwives, enabling timely prevention of - and intervention during - complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. As part of the program, health facilities in remote parts of the Congo will be fitted with solar power systems and ultra-portable ultrasound and monitoring devices so that midwives and doctors in these district health centers can identify and manage high-risk pregnancies onsite and provide emergency obstetric and newborn care. Community health workers serving remote communities will be equipped with backpack outreach kits containing key equipment to assist in childbirth, together with a mobile phone they can use to get remote technical support.