The public has been urged not to view preterm birth solely as a medical issue, but as a family, health-system, policy and human concern requiring collective action.
Founder of the Early Births Awareness and Support Foundation (EBAS), Tari Agiobu, made the call at the 2026 Preterm Summit organised by the foundation in Port Harcourt, with the theme, “Strengthening Preterm Survival in Nigeria: From Access to Outcomes.”
Agiobu said the focus should extend beyond keeping premature babies alive to creating the conditions necessary for them to survive, thrive and live healthy lives.
She noted that approximately one in every 10 babies born in Nigeria was estimated to be preterm, describing the situation as one that demanded urgent and sustained action.
According to her, Nigeria’s estimated preterm birth rate stood at about 9.9 per cent in 2010 and remained around the same level in 2020, expressing concern over the lack of significant improvement.
She urged stakeholders to pay greater attention to what happens to premature babies after birth, particularly whether they receive appropriate care early enough and whether their chances of survival are determined by where they are born.
Also Read:
RSUTH Trains Health Personnel on Advanced Resuscitation Techniques
Olukemi-Odele Raises Alarm Over Mandatory Fortification of Seasoning Cubes
The EBAS founder also shared her personal experience of losing a set of twins born prematurely about 10 years ago, saying the experience strengthened her resolve to advocate for better outcomes for premature babies and their families.
“I cannot change what happened to my babies. But I can choose what their lives will mean,” she said.
Agiobu said the summit was designed to promote collective responsibility among healthcare professionals, parents, advocates, policymakers, development partners and faith communities.
She urged stakeholders to have difficult conversations about existing gaps in preterm care and work towards ensuring that survival becomes the beginning of a better life rather than the ultimate goal.
In her keynote presentation, Professor of Paediatrics and Neurology and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Development, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Angela Frank-Briggs, described preterm birth as a “silent emergency.”
Frank-Briggs said millions of babies were born prematurely globally every year, noting that the World Health Organisation estimated that about 13.4 million babies were born preterm globally, representing approximately one in every 10 live births.
She said complications arising from preterm birth remained a leading cause of death among children under five, stressing that many of the deaths could be prevented through known and cost-effective interventions.
According to her, preventing premature births must begin with proper maternal healthcare before and during pregnancy.
She identified antenatal care, adequate maternal nutrition, infection prevention and treatment, prevention and management of hypertension and pre-eclampsia, diabetes screening and management, prevention of maternal anaemia, early identification of high-risk pregnancies and timely referral as critical interventions.
“The first neonatal intervention is, in many cases, good maternal care before the baby is born. We cannot sustainably reduce death from prematurity without addressing the conditions that contribute to premature birth,” she said.
Frank-Briggs also stressed the need for stronger preconception care, adequate family planning services and improved adolescent reproductive health education.
She urged healthcare providers and policymakers to move beyond having policies on paper to ensuring their effective implementation.
“The challenge is not that we do not have some of these policies in place. The challenge we have in our country is implementation. We must move from policy being on paper to being in practice,” she said.
She further called for a stronger healthcare continuum, from the womb and community through primary and secondary healthcare facilities to tertiary neonatal units and post-discharge follow-up.
Frank-Briggs said merely having access to a health facility was not enough, asking whether such facilities had skilled birth attendants, functional newborn resuscitation services, reliable oxygen, effective infection-control systems, feeding support, kangaroo mother care and timely referral systems.
She added that discharge from a neonatal unit should not be regarded as the end of care, stressing that premature babies required continued monitoring and support after leaving the hospital.
The professor also referenced Nigeria’s Child Survival Action Plan 2025–2029, which she said emphasised a continuum of care from households and communities to primary and higher-level health facilities.
She called for increased investment in healthcare workers and other personnel responsible for saving the lives of premature babies.
A participant at the summit and child intercessor, Rebi Alexander, called for increased community-level awareness on preterm care, particularly the use of kangaroo mother care, to bridge knowledge gaps and improve outcomes for premature babies.
Alexander said the technique had helped her family and urged stakeholders to take information on preterm care to communities across the country, particularly areas where mothers and families had limited access to essential health information.
“This is a very, very impactful event. I wish it can be taken out for more people to see. Personally, I have learnt so much, and it’s shocking to hear that some people still don’t know so much about the kangaroo mother care technique,” she said.
She said the technique proved useful in her own case, with her husband and sister assisting her.
Alexander also called attention to the psychological needs of women during and after childbirth, urging the inclusion of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in the wider maternal and childbirth healthcare support system.
