A senior paediatrician and Chief Executive Officer of OUTREACH Medical Services, Efunbo Dosekun, has said that half of the problems related to neonatal health crisis including natal deaths will be solved in Nigeria with appropriate community awareness.

Dosekun stated this during a media webinar on “How Comprehensive Emergency Obstetric and Neonatal Care (CEMONC) Is Reducing Maternal & Newborn Deaths in Nigeria” noting that there is need for a greater commitment to ensure adequate care for children for economic reasons, and the development of the country’s human resources.

She observed that Nigeria is among the four worst countries globally for newborn survival, with one in every 25 Nigerian newborns dying while the country is the second-highest worldwide in maternal and neonatal deaths.

Dosekun said reducing newborn deaths requires a fully integrated system linking community awareness, primary care, secondary care and referral hospitals.

Families, traditional birth attendants, community and religious leaders, she said, must be able to recognise danger signs such as poor feeding, fever, jaundice, breathing difficulty or failure to cry at birth and ensure immediate referral.

Emergency transport systems, coordinated referral platforms, and better data collection are also critical to sustaining progress.

If Nigeria commits to early referral, adequate funding, workforce training and expansion of mid-level neonatal care over the next four years, the country can achieve a remarkable reduction in newborn deaths,” she said.

She described the CEMONC initiative not just as a health policy intervention, but as a national survival effort with real implications for Nigerian families.

Dosekun said the leading causes of newborn deaths in Nigeria remain prematurity, birth asphyxia, sepsis, severe jaundice, birth trauma and anaemia, stressing that most of these deaths are preventable with timely intervention and community awareness.

She warned that jaundice, if not properly monitored and treated, can worsen rapidly, leading to death or permanent brain damage.

Dosekun identified preterm birth as another major contributor to newborn deaths, noting that much of its prevention and management depends on appropriate obstetric care.