Over 3 million global neonatal deaths are reported annually. While significant progress has been made over the past decade towards reducing overall under 5 mortality, very little progress has been made towards the reduction of neonatal deaths, which represent about 40% of all deaths in children under the age of 5. The majority of neonatal deaths occur in rural areas of low-income countries and approximately two thirds are due to infection and complications relating to low birth weight (LBW) and prematurity.