Expert Urges Standardisation Of Neonatal Jaundice Care

Founder of Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA), Mrs Toyin Saraki, has called for the standardisation and integration of neonatal jaundice management into Nigeria’s healthcare system to prevent avoidable newborn deaths and lifelong disabilities.

Mrs Saraki made the call at the final quarterly stakeholders’ meeting of Project Oscar – Light for Life, at Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba.

Delivering the welcome remarks on behalf of Saraki, the director of programmes, WBFA, Dr Osinachi Onyeoziri, said while neonatal jaundice is globally recognised as manageable and treatable, it continues to contribute to preventable deaths and conditions such as kernicterus and cerebral palsy in Nigeria due to systemic gaps.

“Neonatal jaundice remains the most common medical condition affecting newborns in their first days of life. The challenge is not a lack of knowledge or solutions. It is the persistence of gaps in early detection, timely referral, access to functional equipment, reliable power supply, and community awareness.”

“Project Oscar – Light for Life was conceived to address these gaps through a comprehensive systems-strengthening approach. The initiative is funded by Reckitt as a social impact partnership and implemented by WBFA in collaboration with technical partners NEST360 and SCIDaR (Solina), working closely with the Lagos State Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Primary Health Care Management Board.

“Over the course of implementation, the project has recorded measurable impact across primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of care. Screening protocols have been standardised in 16 facilities. Hospitals have been equipped with functional bilirubinometers and phototherapy units. A total of 290 healthcare workers have been trained, and nearly 30,000 women have been reached with lifesaving knowledge. More than 8,800 newborns have been screened, with over 900 receiving timely treatment.

“Behind each of these figures is a child whose life trajectory has been protected and a family spared avoidable grief,” the statement noted. “This is what system strengthening looks like. It is data-driven, partnership-led, anchored in policy alignment and global best practice, and rooted in the belief that every Nigerian child deserves a healthy start to life.”

Mrs Saraki emphasised that sustainability and policy integration must now be the collective focus, urging stakeholders to ensure neonatal jaundice management is standardised, embedded, and safeguarded within broader newborn and maternal health frameworks.

In response, the Lagos State government reaffirmed its commitment to the sustainable integration of Project Oscar into maternal and child health services.

Director of Family Health and Nutrition at the Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Bolade Kokoye, stated that the initiative directly supports the state’s mandate to protect its youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

“These numbers represent real children and families spared from preventable harm. They also demonstrate a successful model of integrated care across primary, secondary, and tertiary facilities, a model we are keen to strengthen and scale,” she said.