The Executive Director of the Centre for Newborn Health Research and Innovation, Olufunke Bolaji, has said that the leading causes of neonatal deaths are preventable or treatable through skilled care.
- +Nigeria loses 280,000 babies annually — Expert
Bolaji, a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, said, “Nigeria loses 280,000 newborns every year within the first 28 days of life.
Bolaji, a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, said, “Nigeria loses 280,000 newborns every year within the first 28 days of life. Nigeria is the second-highest contributor to neonatal deaths globally.”
The medical expert spoke in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday while shedding light on the focus of the newly inaugurated CeNHRI, a research and innovation centre established by the state government within the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, with support from the Gates Foundation and the Initiative for Social Impact and Development.
CeNHRI was inaugurated by Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji on June 5 with the mandate to generate evidence, build clinical capacity, drive innovation, and translate research into policy and practice for newborn health.
The governor said at the occasion that the centre would serve as “a meeting point for researchers, clinicians, policymakers, development partners and communities to work together to develop practical solutions that save lives.”
Oyebanji added, “While this centre is located in Ado Ekiti, the capital of the state, its mission extends far beyond our borders. CeNHRI has been deliberately conceived as an Africa-focused institution that will generate knowledge, develop solutions, strengthen health systems and contribute meaningfully to a remarkable reduction in neonatal mortality across the continent.”
Bolaji said the research and innovation centre, which targets improved outcomes for mothers and newborns, was established to generate evidence, build clinical capacity, drive innovation, and translate research into policy and practice for newborn health.
She said, “Annually in Nigeria, 280,000 babies die before they have had a real chance to live, grow and fulfil their potential. What makes this burden even more painful is that many newborn deaths are preventable.
“With skilled birth attendants, timely resuscitation, quality essential newborn care, improved management of small and sick newborns, better referral systems, and stronger frontline capacity, many babies who are lost today can survive.”
She said the leading causes of neonatal deaths include prematurity, perinatal asphyxia and neonatal infections — conditions that are largely preventable or treatable with skilled care.
“Yet the health system gap between what is known and what is practised at the point of care remains vast. Health workers lack structured simulation-based training. Locally generated evidence is insufficient, and research rarely reaches the ward. Policy is disconnected from practice,” she said.
Bolaji said CeNHRI hopes to close the gap “through simulation-based training, research, capacity building and policy engagement anchored in the Nigerian context and designed for the Nigerian health system.”
According to her, CeNHRI has a purpose-built simulation centre equipped with high-fidelity mannequins, clinical equipment and observation facilities, enabling healthcare workers to practise life-saving newborn care skills in a realistic, safe and repeatable environment before applying them in real clinical situations.
She said the first cohort of simulation-based training for healthcare workers across Ekiti State would begin in the third quarter of the year.
Bolaji added, “CeNHRI was established to bridge the gap between evidence and practice, between research and policy, and between clinical knowledge and life-saving action. Every health system deserves quality evidence to improve; every health worker deserves innovative tools and skills to act effectively; and every newborn deserves a chance to survive.”
