UNICEF and neonatal care stakeholders in Gombe State have called for improved specialised care for premature babies to reduce newborn deaths and protect their future development.
They made the call on Friday in Gombe during the 2026 World Prematurity Day commemoration, organised by UNICEF in collaboration with the state government.
The newsmen report that this year’s theme is ‘Small babies, big potential. Invest in follow-up care to protect their future.’
Mr Oluseyi Olosunde, a UNICEF Health Officer at its Bauchi Field Office, said prematurity remained a major contributor to neonatal deaths in Nigeria.
He said improving care for premature babies would help reduce newborn deaths in Gombe State and across the country.
According to him, reducing under-five mortality requires greater attention to premature babies to prevent neonatal deaths and improve child survival.
Olosunde said UNICEF, the Gombe government and development partners were working to improve neonatal care and ensure more premature babies survived.
He identified training frontline health workers, immunisation programmes and upgrading health facilities as some of the interventions supporting improved newborn care.
While commending the collaboration between government and development partners, he called for intensified public awareness to address misconceptions about premature babies.
He stressed that premature babies were neither cursed nor without prospects, urging communities to recognise their potential and support their development.
He said: “We must all work to develop education materials in local languages that will let people in the rural areas know about preterm babies.
“There is no anomaly about them. There is no curse about them; we need to let them know the clinical reasons, and beyond that help them understand their role also.”
Mrs Maryam Usman, a health officer with the Gombe State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, commended UNICEF for training frontline health personnel across 56 primary healthcare facilities.
She said the training was essential to improving the survival chances of premature babies.
Usman also appreciated the state government, UNICEF and other development partners for providing basic equipment to manage premature babies.
She said the partners had also provided tricycle ambulances to facilitate emergency transportation.
Dr Rabo Adeniji, a consultant paediatrician and neonatologist at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe, urged governments at all levels to strengthen Universal Health Coverage (UHC) for newborns.
Adeniji commended UNICEF for supporting World Prematurity Day activities, including training, media dialogue and an experience-sharing workshop.
“This is very encouraging and it is a moral booster for us,” she said.
She also urged the media to use their platforms to promote the welfare of premature babies and help eliminate myths and misconceptions surrounding premature birth.
