Zainabu Mudasiru
Zainabu Mudasiru
Title: Innovating for Impact! Neonatal Intensive Care in a Resource-Limited Environment
Neonatal mortality remains highest in low/middle income countries such as Nigeria.
Why do the obstetrics and neonatal doctors in Lagos believe the gestation of viability is 28 weeks and above?…We have proved otherwise…
Some Challenges:
- NICU beds per capita is a fraction of what is needed
- Power outages/Unstable power supply
- Expensive imported equipment/consumables
- Surfactant scarcity/expensive
- Oxygen supply not reliable
- High cost of care
- Inadequate numbers of trained staff (Neonatologists and Neonatal nurses)
- Delayed referrals
- Challenging infection control systems
- Counterfeit fake drugs
- No emergency care response service or bed management service
- Poor neonatal care in hospitals
- Poor recognition of illness
- Delay in seeking healthcare
WE CANNOT SIMPLY IMPORT SOLUTIONS… WE MUST INNOVATE…
Generate steady electricity supply. Good quality and cost-effective equipment withstanding heat and voltage fluctuations. Maintenance of equipment. Steady oxygen supply. Adequate training in knowledge and skills for doctors and nurses includes visual protocols, refresher training and SIM-based learning. Free accommodation for staff. Social media messages advocating for early referrals. Providing a Neonatal Transport Service. INFECTION PREVENTION AND CONTROL.
Our Innovation Achievements:
- Enhanced efficiency and improved survival (gestational age from 25 weeks and above successfully discharged)
- Lower cost neonatal interventions
- Staff capacity development/expertise in neonatal care
- Access to high quality neonatal care
- Reduced infection rates
- Success leading to sustainability
- Creating Impact! Saving lives of babies that would not have otherwise survived
Key Message:
NEONATAL SURVIVAL EVEN AS LOW AS 25 WEEKS IS ACHIEVABLE IN RESOURCE-LIMITED ENVIRONMENTS SUCH AS NIGERIA INNOVATION AND COMMITMENT CAN TRANSFORM OUTCOMES “EVERY NEWBORN DESERVES A FIGHTING CHANCE” “OUR NEWBORNS CANNOT WAIT FOR PERFECT CONDITIONS. THEY NEED US TO INNOVATE NOW, WITH WHAT WE HAVE, WHERE WE ARE…”
Biography:
Dr. Mudasiru was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She attended medical school in Lagos, after which she moved to the UK for her Pediatric/Neonatal training. In between, she was Head of a NICU in South Africa. After finding out that Nigeria has one of the highest rates of Neonatal mortality in the world, she returned to Lagos in 2023 to set up Babies Matter Medical Centre. So far, Dr Mudasiru and her team, have defied the odds in Nigeria, by successfully managing extremely premature babies with gestations as low as 25 weeks, who have survived, gone home and are doing well.