LOS ANGELES, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a major initiative aimed at reducing the rate of preventable stillbirths in the country, the agency announced Tuesday.

The NIH will provide over 37 million U.S. dollars in funding over five years to establish the Stillbirth Research Consortium.

The consortium, which will include four research centers and one data coordinating center, aims to bring together leading scientists to develop tools, devices and technologies that could improve the diagnosis, understanding and prevention of stillbirth.

Each year, about 23,600 stillbirths at 20 weeks or greater gestation are reported in the United States, with more than 60 percent of these cases remaining unexplained, according to the NIH.

"This consortium will provide an integrated, collaborative program to support cutting edge research to identify the root causes of stillbirth and inform evidence-based strategies to address stillbirth risks," said Alison Cernich, acting director of NIH's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. ■