On World Prematurity Day, in alignment with WHO’s Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures campaign, I was pleased to engage with and welcome the global launch of the Kangaroo Mother Care: A Clinical Practice Guide, which provides a clear, evidence-based pathway for countries to elevate Kangaroo Mother Care to the essential standard for preterm and low-birth-weight newborns. By defining Kangaroo Mother Care as immediate, sustained skin-to-skin contact with exclusive breast-milk feeding, the WHO sets out the policies, infrastructure, workforce and data systems needed to ensure continuous maternal-newborn proximity.

This technical clarity is especially critical for Nigeria, where complications of prematurity remain a leading cause of newborn mortality. The evidence demonstrates that Kangaroo Mother Care reduces neonatal deaths, prevents hypothermia and severe infection, improves exclusive breastfeeding, and strengthens family wellbeing, while improving the efficiency of overstretched health systems. These priorities align closely with the Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s efforts to advance respectful, integrated maternal, neonatal and premature newborn care.

Through our MamaCare360 and NICUPlus Programme, supported in earlier phases by MedelaCares, we have shown that structured Kangaroo Mother Care and lactation support can be embedded reliably across Nigerian facilities. To date, our combined programme impact includes 3,445 mothers and 4,264 babies supported, with 2,121 milk-expression sessions producing 1,884,133 ml of breast milk for the smallest and most vulnerable newborns.

Our continuum-of-care commitment extends further through Project Oscar – Light For Life, a Neonatal Jaundice Screening, Treatment & Kernicterus Prevention Programme, which strengthens early detection and timely management of Neonatal Jaundice, one of the region’s most preventable causes of newborn morbidity and disability.

As we mark this World Prematurity Day, the Wellbeing Foundation Africa will continue to strengthen programming and partnerships to ensure that every preterm and small newborn receives the high-quality, nurturing care required to survive, thrive, and realise their full potential, while advancing progress toward Every Newborn Action Plan targets.

Download the Kangaroo Mother Care: A Clinical Practice Guide