Nurse Gabriel Oluremi is among the heroes providing quality care to small and sick babies in the neonatal unit (NNU) at Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She shared with us a typical day in the NNU.
Tanzania is making significant progress towards establishing its first Human Milk Bank at Muhimbili National Hospital, Mloganzila aspart of a broader effort in Tanzania to improve care for small and sick newborns.
Breast milk is the best nutrition for every baby, including those who are small or sick. It helps babies grow, strengthens their immune system, supports healthy brain development, and lowers the risk of life-threatening conditions such as sepsis.
KMC shows what is possible when evidence, high-quality care, and well-designed health systems work together. For KMC to truly save lives at scale, it must be supported by the basics: functioning newborn spaces for the mother-infant dyad, reliable power, skilled healthcare professionals, and the right equipment in the right space.
This analysis is based on the largest published neonatal economic dataset covering real-world implementation from 650,000 newborns, 65 neonatal units, in four African countries: Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania. Together, these countries account for nearly 40% of Africa’s neonatal deaths. There is a major gap in real-world costing data to inform neonatal care, and the NEST360 Alliance has worked together to address that gap. This paper includes authors from four of the NEST360 countries (Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, and Tanzania) and is majority African and majority female.
Join NEST360 at IMNHC 2026 from March 23 to 26 as we unite with governments, global, regional, and local partners, and key stakeholders to elevate country-led partnerships, share proven implementation tools, showcase impact, and champion going faster together for more investment in newborn care.
In a new article published by AllAfrica, partners from the Mohamed bin Zayed Foundation for Humanity, the Beginnings Fund, and NEST360 highlight the need for sustained investment in health systems, skilled health workers, and proven innovations that save lives. They demonstrate the importance of strong data systems to track lifesaving newborn interventions such as CPAP, Kangaroo Mother Care, phototherapy, and hypothermia prevention.
In neonatal wards across Kenya, some of the most powerful leaders are mothers. On International Women’s Day, we celebrate women who lead, nurture, and change systems often without titles, platforms, or recognition.
NEST360 partnered with the World Continuing Education Alliance (WCEA) to launch the online CPAP course: “Mastering the use of CPAP devices: a level 2 hospital practical guide.” The self-paced online course provides healthcare professionals with practical knowledge and hands-on experience to safely and confidently operate and maintain essential newborn CPAP devices, such as those used in WHO Level 2 care facilities in Africa.