Neotree

Who we are

Neotree is a UK-based charity dedicated to ending preventable newborn mortality. We put the life-saving power of technology into the hands of doctors and nurses in resource-scarce countries.

Our mission: to end preventable newborn deaths and improve care.

The problem

Neonatal mortality is an urgent global health issue, causing nearly 50% of all child deaths under 5, affecting families, communities, and economies.

 - Over 6,000 newborns die daily (equal to 8 jumbo jets)

 - Annually, 2 in 3 neonatal deaths could be prevented, saving over 1.2m babies

 - A baby in Africa is 10 times more likely to die than one in Europe or the US.

Every day more than 6,500 babies die in their first month of life. Two thirds of these deaths could be prevented by improving the quality of care, and ensuring healthcare professionals know how, and when, to deliver simple, proven interventions. The quality of care in many low resource facilities is inconsistent. There is often a shortage of newborn trained healthcare workers and limited means of collecting data. The Neotree system was developed as a solution to these problems.

The solution

​Neotree provides a unique low-cost, open-source platform addressing all major newborn disorders through:

 - Clinical decision support for quick bedside care (critical as ~50% of babies die within the first 24 hours)

 - In-app training and education for timely assessment and care

 - Extensive data collection to enhance health outcomes for hospitals and policymakers.

The evidence

Evidence is at the centre of everything Neotree does. There is over seven years research behind the Neotree system. Throughout, we have consistently monitored the impact of the Neotree technology and its effect on newborn survival rates. Neotree works in partnership with a team of researchers across University College London (UK), the University of Zimbabwe, Biomedical Research and Training Institute (BRTI), Zimbabwe, Global Health Informatics Institute (GHII), Malawi and the Malawian College of Medicine.

Neotree’s journey

To date, the Neotree system has been used in the care of over 57,000 babies, by more than 3,300 healthcare professionals, in 18 healthcare facilities across Malawi and Zimbabwe. Doctors who use the Neotree app have called it “lifesaving”.

The technology has already led to the reduced the over-prescription of antibiotics, reduced rates of hypothermia, and increased the overall standard of care. It has proven resilient through industrial strikes and a global pandemic. Our vision is for the technology to be used at the bedside in all low resource settings, so that every newborn is counted and cared for. This will help to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3, and save the lives of more than half a million babies each year.

Vision

What began as a University College London (UCL), research project (2013), also became a UK charity (2019) to end preventable newborn deaths.

Neotree isn’t a future promise. It’s affordable, practical, and available now. We can save 500,000+ babies’ lives and improve the care of 27m+ babies every year, if Neotree is adopted by Ministries of Health across low-income countries, advancing key UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Neotree values diversity and is committed to equal opportunities. All applicants for employment will receive equal treatment without discrimination on grounds of gender, race, ethnic or national origins, disability, gender identity or sexual orientation, or any other grounds. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from candidates from minority ethnic backgrounds, and the low-resource settings in which we work, to ensure we have a well-balanced and widely representative staff base.