Newborn survival goals will be met faster together!
Announcing the birth of a formal partnership between African Neonatal Association (ANA) and NEST360
Author: Mbozu Sipalo | Contributors: Nicole Moreno, Joy Lawn, and Olufunke Bolaji
NEST360 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Neonatal Association (ANA) to enhance their joint partnership based on a shared purpose for every newborn in every African country to be able to survive and thrive, with the right small and sick newborn care.
NEST360 is an international alliance of 17 organisations (13 in Africa) united to end preventable newborn deaths in African hospitals.
The African Neonatal Association is a group of African neonatologists and paediatricians working in neonatal care in Africa with over 300 members in almost every sub-Saharan African country.
The agreement, formalised with an MoU, was signed by the leadership teams of both organisations
- Prof. Joy Lawn, NEST360, steering team member
“As NEST360 alliance are excited to expand our already active partnering with the African Neonatal Association. Though only two years old, they have members who are leading change all over Africa, aligning with the heart of NEST360’s mission. We also recognize an overlap of many people in both organizations. Together we can make faster progress toward the SDG3.2 target for neonatal survival and share learning and practical tools for action on Toolkit, also supporting French-speaking African countries with the highest neonatal mortality rates.”
This partnership across sub-Saharan Africa is to support government SDG commitments to end preventable newborn deaths and accelerate progress towards SDG3.2 through shared initiatives, such as:
- Practical tools and linking learning communities, including more in French as part of org
- Improving quality including use of common core dataset and comparable dashboards
- Education and Leadership development
- Collective advocacy and use of data for action and accountability
- - Dr Olufunke Bolaji, Chair Advocacy & Collaboration, African Neonatal Association
“ANA is delighted to announce this partnership and the joint initiatives we have planned. We think NEST360 is a perfect partner for ANA as they are leaders in delivering a whole health systems package for the most vulnerable newborns across Africa.”
ANA members and NEST360 team at the JENS conference in Rome in September 2023
Opening plenary of the Joint European Neonatal Society conference with 1700 participants (Pictured left to right; Prof. Joy Lawn, Dr Alex Stevenson, Tendai Mutema, Leah Greenspan, and Linda Storari)
To commemorate this vibrant new collaboration the NEST360/UNICEF co-created Newborn Toolkit in partnership with ANA have launched an essay contest on the theme ’Making a Case for Investing in Small and Sick Newborn Care’ ahead of World Prematurity Day, with two £500 prizes for a winning essay in French or English, sponsored by the Chiesi Foundation.
The submission deadline is Tuesday 24th October 2023, 11:59pm BST.
For more information on how to get involved in opportunities and events with the toolkit, you can join the mailing lists and follow them social media below!
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We are continually improving this collaborative platform and welcome feedback and suggestions. For any resource or tool suggestions, in English or French, please share them for review using our online submission portal. To request a newborn care webinar topic or for other inquiries please contact newborntoolkit@nest360.org.
Thank you to our many collaborators including NEST360, UNICEF, African Neonatal Association, the Chiesi Foundation, and others.
