Last week in Lagos, the Wellbeing Froundation Africa convened the Final Quarterly Stakeholder Review Meeting of Project Oscar – Light for Life, our neonatal jaundice screening, treatment, and kernicterus prevention programme, at the Skills Lab Centre of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, to review progress, validate outcomes, and align with frontline partners and health leadership on the next phase of policy scale and long-term sustainability.

Delivered in a social impact partnership with Reckitt, with technical collaboration from NEST360 and Solina Centre for International Development and Research (SCIDaR), and in close coordination with Lagos State Ministry of Health, Lagos State Primary Health Care Board, Primary Health Care leadership, and public health facilities, this partnership model reflects deliberate alignment between global evidence, national priorities, and facility-level practice.

In Lagos State, Project Oscar – Light for Life has demonstrated the impact of embedding standardised neonatal jaundice care within routine newborn services. To date, 9,151 newborns have been screened, enabling earlier identification and timely clinical action; 987 infants have been identified with elevated bilirubin levels, 325 have been referred through structured hub-and-spoke pathways, and 937 have received prompt treatment, supported by 290 trained healthcare workers, functional diagnostic and phototherapy capacity, and harmonised screening and referral protocols across participating facilities.

Across the wider programme health education footprint, Project Oscar – Light for Life has engaged 74 health facilities across 5 States, and delivered structured education to over 107,762 pregnant women and nursing mothers, strengthening early recognition, appropriate care-seeking behaviour, and continuity of care from household to facility.

As Project Oscar – Light for Life transitions from implementation into institutionalisation, neonatal jaundice management must move from project to practice, sustained through policy and financing, to safeguard newborn lives from the earliest light.

 

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