The Dominican government has instituted a program called “The Plan to Reduce Newborn Mortality” and the results have been encouraging. In 2025, the mortality of newborn babies dying before 28 days was down 42% with respect to 2021.
The National Health Service (SNS) made it clear that in 2021, after the Covid-19 pandemic, the mortality rate for newborn infants was the highest it had been in more than 10 years. However, between 2024 and 2025, the mortality rate was down 16.8%.
Ten of the nation’s maternity hospitals were the basis for this program. These hospitals included the nation’s largest, La Altagracia in Santo Domingo and San Lorenzo in Los Mina.
Hospitals around the country were also part of the project, including the Maternity Hospital La Altagracia in Higüey and Juan Pablo Pina in San Cristobal.
According to the press release, health officials attribute this impressive reduction infant mortality to better equipment in the hospitals, a strengthened program of attention to mothers and children, and specialized personnel in the hospitals.
The reduction has also been attributed to new protocols that discourage birthing tourism. While attention is still giving to foreign women who show up in emergency rooms to give birth, the new protocols do not make available free medical services for undocumented foreigners. Thousands of Haitian women would show up at last minute to give birth, many with complications that impacted the birth mortality rate in the country.
Authorities from the National Health Service (SNS) attribute a significant drop in hospital births among Haitian nationals to the implementation of the Migration Protocol in Public Hospitals. This protocol, which began on 21 April 2025, is a key component of the 15 migration policy measures introduced by the Dominican government last year.
According to the SNS report, Analysis of the Year-on-Year Variation of Haitian Births in the Public Network (January 2025–January 2026), the data reveals a drastic shift in hospital demographics:
In 2025, births to Haitian mothers accounted for 38.2% of all recorded births in the public system. By 2026, this figure fell to 17.9%. This represents a 53.1% year-on-year decline in births within this demographic.
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16 February 2026