Unified healthcare network can end Nigeria’s high neonatal mortality — Dosekun

By Sola Ogundipe

Nigeria’s high neonatal mortality rate is a crisis of coordination rather than a mere shortage of funds, a veteran Senior Paediatrician Dr. Efunbo Dosekun, has warned.

In a compelling call for immediate reform, Dosekun, who is the CEO of Outreach Medical Services, argues that Nigeria’s current fragmented healthcare jigsaw must be replaced with a unified, organised perinatal network if the nation is to ensure the survival of its newborns.

Outreach Medical Services runs four acute care Women’s and Children’s Medical Centres in Festac Town, Okota and Osapa,Lekki in Lagos State and Ogara in Delta State.

Dosekun, says the central challenge of neonatal mortality in Nigeria is not merely a lack of funding, but a profound fragmentation of the healthcare jigsaw puzzle.
“To address this, Nigeria must transition from isolated medical interventions toward a unified perinatal network.
“This model links 30 -40 primary care providers—including church-led maternity centers, traditional midwives, and nurse-led clinics—to centralised middle-level hubs.
“By mapping these resources geographically, we ensure that a baby born in a community setting is never more than an effective transport link away from specialised care.
“This integration eliminates the chaotic ‘out-born’ phenomenon where babies arrive at tertiary centers in the final stages of systemic failure, far beyond the point where even the most expensive technology can intervene.
Her words: “Effective reform requires an honest assessment of our human capacity and the ‘Japa’ syndrome.
“We must acknowledge that our healthcare workers are not just leaving for higher pay; they are fleeing the moral injury of being forced to make life-or-death decisions without basic tools like oxygen or reliable electricity. To counter this brain drain, we must adopt a strategy of task-shifting, creating a tier of “super-nurses” equipped with advanced midwifery and acute neonatal skills.” Calling for a radical shift in how the private sector and the media engage with the healthcare sector, Dosekun urges corporate Nigeria, the banking sector, and manufacturing industries to view neonatal survival as a business case for national economic stability rather than a charity project.
“These professionals can provide a frontline defense against avoidable deaths, supported by a system that treats every single delivery as a potential emergency.” Preparedness must be the standard, ensuring that resuscitation equipment is at the bedside before a baby is born, rather than being sought only after a crisis has begun.
Furthermore, we must invite the private sector and the media to view healthcare through the lens of a business case rather than a charity project. When corporate Nigeria, the banking sector, and manufacturing industries invest in neonatal training and equipment, they are investing in the country’s future economic stability.
The media plays a critical role here by shifting the public discourse from a “blame culture” to one of “preventative intelligence.” By utilizing health ambassadors within religious and social organisations to teach early surveillance,such as identifying neonatal jaundice or sepsis before it reaches a critical threshold, we can drastically reduce the clinical load on our overstretched hospitals.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a local, sustainable model of care that reflects Nigerian realities. We cannot wait for Western solutions that cost millions to maintain; instead, we must leverage indigenous innovation, such as solar-powered neonatal units and modified emergency transport systems. By merging the maternity and neonatal sides of medicine with community-led surveillance, we build a continuum of care that protects the mother and the child from the moment of conception through the first month of life. This is a call for a national movement led by patriotism and intelligence, ensuring that every Nigerian child has the opportunity to fulfill their potential within a system designed to help them thrive.

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