STORIES

Articles, News, and More

Read the latest NEST stories, providing insights from NEST partners who advance quality newborn care through innovation, policy, and education.

World Prematurity Day Celebrations

World Prematurity Day Celebrations

World Prematurity Day is an international day to raise awareness for babies who are born too soon. This year with partners around the world we highlighted Kangaroo Mother Care. Preterm birth continues to be the leading contributor to under-5 deaths globally, being responsible for almost half of all under-5 deaths in 2021. Immediate initiation of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) has shown to significantly decrease newborn mortality. Skin-to-skin contact’s benefits includes improved thermal regulation, infection prevention, improved breast feeding, positive facilitation of physiological, behavioral, psychosocial, and neurodevelopment, and a reduced risk of neonatal mortality.

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Implementation Toolkit Series | Financing

Implementation Toolkit Series | Financing

This seminar is part of the Implementation Toolkit seminar series, and dives into Financing and what it takes to figure out the cost for different aspects of newborn care and how to invest in it.

This seminar series is structured around the Health System Building Blocks (HSBBs) and is linked to the NEST360 | UNICEF Newborn Implementation Toolkit. Learn more about the toolkit: newborntoolkit.org

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Kenya holds GIC for pre-service and clinical mentorship

Kenya holds GIC for pre-service and clinical mentorship

Lecturers and mentors who attended the Newborn ETAT course also had the opportunity to participate in the Generic Instructor Course (GIC) on May 4-6, 2022, in Nairobi, Kenya. The GIC provides training to potential instructors in how to teach providers course material. GIC attendees learn the principles of teaching adults in different learning environments through lectures, demonstrations, discussions, and interactive practice sessions. The skills learned in GIC are beneficial beyond life support courses and can inform all teaching.

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Birth Asphyxia: a case study for implementing resuscitation newborn care in Nigeria

Birth Asphyxia: a case study for implementing resuscitation newborn care in Nigeria

Birth asphyxia, also known as Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIC), is one of Nigeria’s most common causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity. It is a condition that occurs when a baby does not get enough oxygen during birth. The limited flow of blood and oxygen to the brain and perhaps to other organs can lead to brain damage either during delivery or soon after birth; it can also lead to death.

According to the WHO, birth asphyxia accounts for an estimated 900,000 deaths of newborns globally. Birth asphyxia occurs in most secondary health facilities in Nigeria, including facilities supported by NEST360.

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Sepsis diagnostic device added to NEST360 NTL ed. 7

Sepsis diagnostic device added to NEST360 NTL ed. 7

A new technology has been added to the sepsis diagnostic product category in the 7th edition of the NEST360 Newborn Technology Landscape. FINDER® by Baebies is the first sepsis diagnostic device featured and is an ultra-rapid, fully integrated platform for use with neonatal populations. According to the device developer, the system is intended to be used in moderate complexity settings by healthcare professionals.

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Data-Driven Change Gets Big Boost in Malawi

Data-Driven Change Gets Big Boost in Malawi

NEST’s Malawi team partnered with the Ministry of Health to improve data collection in Malawi through a program that provides computers and REDCap training to data collectors at the facility level.
The Minister of Health, Honorable Khumbize Kandodo Chiponda, was presented with a symbolic computer donation by Professor Kondwani Kawaza (NEST Program Co-PI) on March 24, 2022, at the Capitol Hill in Lilongwe. This gesture represents the beginning of the program aimed at improving data collection.

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A look into Generic Instructors Course (GIC) and Training of Trainers (TOT) Training in Malawi

A look into Generic Instructors Course (GIC) and Training of Trainers (TOT) Training in Malawi

As part of building the capacity of COIN trainers and potential instructors, a three-day Generic Instructor Course (GIC) was held from March 29-31, 2022, at Malawi Sun Hotel in Blantyre. The training drew 24 participants from CHAM facilities, training institutions, and public health facilities. Both local and internal faculty members facilitated the training.

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NEST360: Scaling Collaboration in Newborn Care – Million Lives Collective

NEST360: Scaling Collaboration in Newborn Care – Million Lives Collective

In December 2020, the Pumani bubbleCPAP was recognized by the Million Lives Collective for its impact on 1 million babies. Pumani filled a gap for CPAP devices suitable for neonatal wards in low- and middle-income settings. The experiences of implementing Pumani led to a comprehensive approach to newborn care that encompasses more than a single medical device. It inspired an international alliance to scale solutions like the bundle of newborn technologies to end preventable newborn deaths.

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Cultivating a community of local innovation

Cultivating a community of local innovation

At the beginning of the global pandemic, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was in short supply due to global shortages. Hospitals across Africa were being left without adequate PPE. At the DIT Design Studio, we knew we could help by figuring out how to design, locally manufacture, and produce the PPE that the hospitals desperately needed. However, designing the right products for the community required developing a relationship with hospitals during a time of chaos and uncertainty.

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Opportunity in Adversity

Opportunity in Adversity

“We are very proud of what we have been able to achieve even in the face of a pandemic. The virtual interactions we have with healthcare workers in the newborn units has created an atmosphere of positive change in newborn care in Kenya. We, however, must move this from head knowledge to hands on practical skills through mentorship. Real transformation occurs during mentorship, and this cannot be done virtually—it has to be face to face”

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World Prematurity Day in Nigeria

World Prematurity Day in Nigeria

Each November, countries across the globe come together for World Prematurity Day to call attention to the babies who were born too early and the immediate and long term health challenges they face; and to acknowledge their families and healthcare providers. Premature birth and its complications are the main cause of newborn deaths in the world. More than 1 in 10 infants are born prematurely, resulting in an estimated 15 million preterm births per year, and sub-Saharan Africa bears a disproportionate uneven high burden of these births. It has been further estimated that nearly one million preterm newborns die in sub-Saharan Africa each year, mostly from a lack of equity in healthcare resources to provide the needed interventions. The theme for this year’s celebration is, ‘Together for babies born too soon: caring for the future.’ This is still an urgent health crisis, made all the more challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. We must raise awareness and not lose momentum toward achieving global goals for newborns.

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