The Executive Director of the Centre for Newborn Health Research and Innovation, CeNHRI, Dr Olufunke Bolaji, has disclosed that Nigeria loses about 280,000 newborns annually within the first 28 days of life.
Bolaji, a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, said the country is currently the second-highest contributor to neonatal deaths globally.
She made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti while speaking on the mandate of CeNHRI, a newly established research and innovation centre located at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, EKSUTH.
The centre was inaugurated by Governor Biodun Oyebanji on June 5 with support from the Gates Foundation and the Initiative for Social Impact and Development, ISID.
According to Bolaji, many of the deaths recorded among newborns in Nigeria are preventable through improved healthcare services and skilled medical interventions.
“Nigeria loses 280,000 newborns every year within the first 28 days of life. Nigeria is the second-highest contributor to neonatal deaths globally,” she said.
She explained that the leading causes of neonatal deaths in the country include prematurity, perinatal asphyxia and neonatal infections, noting that these conditions can be prevented or effectively treated through quality healthcare.
“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 stated.
Bolaji, however, lamented the gap between available medical knowledge and actual healthcare practice across the country.
She said, “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.”
According to her, CeNHRI was established to bridge the gap through simulation-based training, research, capacity building and policy engagement tailored to Nigeria’s healthcare system.
She noted that the centre has a purpose-built simulation facility equipped with high-fidelity mannequins, clinical equipment and observation facilities to enable healthcare workers acquire practical life-saving skills in newborn care.
Bolaji further revealed that the first batch of simulation-based training for healthcare workers across Ekiti State would commence in the third quarter of the year.
“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,” she added.
Speaking at the inauguration of the centre, Governor Oyebanji described CeNHRI as a platform that would bring together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, development partners and communities to develop practical solutions aimed at reducing newborn deaths.
He said, “While this centre is located in Ado Ekiti, 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.”
