Lifeline Nehemiah Projects Announces Groundbreaking Trial Results
Reducing Maternal and Newborn Deaths
Lifeline Nehemiah Projects held a major press conference on July 24th, engaging national media including state broadcasters, TV, radio, and newspapers, to announce the significant findings of research conducted by its 2YoungLives program.
The research, a pilot cluster-randomised controlled trial conducted in partnership with King’s College London and funded by the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR, 2019-2024), involved 673 girls across 12 sites in 5 districts, with six randomly selected sites receiving the 2YoungLives mentoring scheme, the remaining six serving as control sites.
Published in June 2025 in The Lancet, the trial revealed a dramatic 48% reduction in the combined rate of maternal deaths and perinatal deaths (baby deaths up to 28 days post-birth) in the sites receiving the 2YoungLives intervention compared to the control sites.
This life-saving effect was driven primarily by a reduction in newborn mortality.
Key Impact:
The results demonstrate that for every 18 girls mentored through the 2YoungLives scheme, one baby’s life was saved, this evidence underscoring the powerful potential of targeted mentoring to drastically improve survival outcomes for mothers and babies.