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.
Small and Sick Newborn Care: Using an Innovative Systems Approach to Implementation
Innovation partnerships | Olusola Oke, University of Ibadan
Innovation Education partnerships: Rice University hosted a visit of Olusola Oke, University of Ibadan, Nigeria Design Studio Assistant Manager Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily...
Fellow Spotlight: Natalie Michell, Celsi Warmer Study Kenya
Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily Bull, and Nicole MorenoRice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies offers post-baccalaureate fellowships for exceptional early-career...
NEST360 Innovation Landscape, 1st edition
Announcing the first edition of the Innovation Landscape! A resources that that catalogs innovations from NEST360 university partners. These innovations are created by students and aim to solve real healthcare challenges identified by their invention education curriculum.
Kellogg School Article: How faculty research is delivering critical medical care to newborns
By untangling complicated supply chain challenges, these global health experts are helping to bring life-saving technologies to doctors in four African nations — and counting.
Comprehensive Newborn Care Protocols: Integrating Technologies with Clinical Care in Kenya
The Comprehensive Newborn Care Protocols provide guidance on newborn care to clinicians and nurses. These protocols in this handbook are underpinned on the ‘Newborn Care Quality Statements’ outlined in this handbook.
NEST360 Newborn Technology Landscape 8th edition
The 8th edition of the Newborn Technology Landscape is now live. There has been exciting growth across the 8th Edition as the Landscape now features over 100 different newborn technologies!
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.
Partner updates: an overview of the past few months
A summary of activities from quarter 3 and quarter 4 in each NEST360 country. Our teams have made incredible progress this year towards sustainability and institutionalizing NEST in small and sick newborn care.
Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) Target Product Profile
Performance & Operational Characteristics for ROP Imaging DeviceAs neonatal care improves worldwide, reducing the risks of disabilities and impairments becomes essential. WHO...
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
Fellow Spotlight: David Kimmey Celsi Warmer Study Malawi
Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily Bull, and Nicole MorenoRice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies offers post-baccalaureate fellowships for exceptional early-career...
Fellow Spotlight: Maureen Mebo Valle Testing Tech in Malawi
Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily Bull, and Nicole MorenoMaureen Mebo Valle, Biomedical Engineer and Researcher, Technical Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, and NEST360 fellow,...
Fellow Spotlight: Rowland Mjumira Testing Technologies in Malawi
Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily Bull, and Nicole MorenoRowland Mjumira, NEST360 Monitoring and Evaluation Officer and NEST360 fellow, was joined by the Houston team in Malawi...
Fellow Spotlight: Josh Coyle BreathAlert Study Malawi
Contributors: Carrie Noxon, Emily Bull, and Nicole MorenoRice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies offers post-baccalaureate fellowships for exceptional early-career...
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.
Malawi skills lab, tech training & progress meetings
Contributors: Carrie Noxon and Nicole MorenoIn the second quarter of 2022, NEST360 in Malawi provided support for clinical skills lab supportive supervision, technical training...
A step closer toward aligning neonatal variables to the national data system
In quarter 2 of 2022, the NEST360 Tanzania team took a step closer to aligning neonatal inpatient variables for the district, regional and tertiary levels. The exercise involved various stakeholders, these individuals came together to review and recommend minimal variables to be included in the national District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2).
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.
AAP Journal Blog on Bilispec Study
American Academy of Pediatrics Journal recently published a blog on a study conducted by a team of physicians and scientists, including lead authors Alyssa Shapiro and Jessica Anderson from Rice University, on a neonatal jaundice point-of-care detection device (Bilispec).
Implementation Toolkit Series | Leadership & Governance
This seminar is part of the Implementation Toolkit for Small and Sick Newborn Care Seminar Series. It discusses hospital leadership & governance with insights from India,...
Implementation Toolkit Series | Family Centred Care
This seminar is part of the Implementation Toolkit for Small and Sick Newborn Care Seminar Series. It discusses the important topic of supporting families and bereavement an...
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.
Implementation Toolkit Series | Human Resources
This seminar is part of the Implementation Toolkit for Small and Sick Newborn Care Seminar Series. It discusses the important topic of available models and materials for workforce training as an important part of ensuring quality newborn care.
Forbes article – Engineers Are Unsung Heroes of Global Health
Engineers add tremendous value in all areas of global health and medical care. They are unsung heroes of global health.
Implementation Toolkit Series | Information Systems
This seminar is part of the Implementation Toolkit for Small and Sick Newborn Care Seminar Series. It discusses the important topic of Health Facility Assessments as an important part of ensuring quality newborn care.
Implementation Toolkit Series | Infection Prevention & Control
This is the first seminar in the Implementation Toolkit for Small and Sick Newborn Care Seminar Series. It discusses the important topic of Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) in newborn care.
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.
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.
Clinical Skills Lab Opens at University College Hospital in Ibadan, Nigeria
In February, Nigeria opened a Clinical Skills Lab at University College Hospital (UCH). The lab serves medical students, student nurses, doctors and nurses within UCH and other health workers from surrounding health facilities who are learning hands-on, comprehensive newborn care.
A Look into Biomedical Engineers and Technicians (BMET) Training
This quarter, the NEST Kenya team led biomedical training at Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya. Biomedical training focuses on providing biomedical engineers and technicians with skills in proper repair and maintenance of NEST technologies during planned preventive and corrective maintenance.
NEST Curriculum Integrated & Quality Improvement in Tanzania
Over the past quarter, NEST Tanzania worked towards important milestones in sustainability of the NEST model within the national systems.
Something ‘Amazing’ Happened. – Lever for Change Story on NEST360’s accomplisments
A plan to reduce Africa’s infant mortality fell short of winning the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s first $100 million competition. Then plan leaders took their show back on the road.
Fourth Annual Malawi Innovators Design Competition – Winners Announced
The 2022 MIDC was coordinated by the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), and the National Commission of Science & Technology (NCST), brought together university student-innovators who presented low-cost technologies they had designed to address local challenges in resource-limited settings.
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.
Baby Incubator Designed for Electrical Outages Wins UI Design Competition
Baby Incubator Designed for Electrical Outages Wins University of Ibadan First Annual Design CompetitionContributor: Padraic CasserlyBaby Incubator Designed for Electrical...
Improving Healthcare Education Teaching Skills: Generic Instructor Course
What is the purpose of the Generic Instructor Course (GIC)? In this post we dive into how the GIC is designed to train potential instructors in how to teach providers’ course material.
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.
BubbleCPAP machine wins DIT Design Competition
BubbleCPAP machine wins DIT Design CompetitionContributor: Carrie NoxonOn May 25, 2021, the DIT Design Studio announced the winners of its first Annual Design Competition. The...
DIT Design Studio: Innovation for COVID-19
Becoming a hub for COVID-19 PreparednessContributor: Carrie NoxonTanzania is home to over 60 million people. Its largest city, Dar es Salaam, is home to five million people—a...
‘Game changing’ equipment to prevent newborn deaths in Africa
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”
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.
HATCH technologies navigates challenges during COVID-19
HATCH Technologies Navigates through unprecedented supply chain challenges for COVID-19 response in Africa.Procurement of medical supplies made national headlines at the start of...
Malawi Design Studios provided & created PPE for those in need
Our design studios again provided the environment needed to innovate and prototype. The space provided our teams a place to question, discover, and innovate about what designs can work here.