Last week, the Laerdal Global Health headquarters welcomed a visit from Dr. Abiy Seifu Estifanos, Principal Investigator of the Saving Little Lives (SLL) Program and Head of the Center for Implementation Sciences in Health. During the visit, Dr. Abiy shared key lessons from the first phase of the program, which was implemented across 290 hospitals in Ethiopia from 2021 to 2024. These insights will play a crucial role in shaping the next phase—SLL 360, a five-year initiative supported by NEST360 and additional funding from the Gates Foundation, Ethiopia Office. The expanded program will extend to 224 hospitals, with 18 designated as learning sites to drive further improvements in newborn care.
A major focus of SLL 360 is immediate Kangaroo Mother Care (iKMC)—a practice that promotes skin-to-skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding, and supportive care, including CPAP, for small and sick newborns immediately after birth. Despite its inclusion in Ethiopia’s national guidelines and updated WHO recommendations, widespread adoption of iKMC remains a challenge.
Reflecting on this, Dr. Abiy Seifu Estifanos emphasized the urgency of implementing iKMC at all levels of care:
“When it comes to iKMC, just do it! Don’t wait for the money or infrastructure to be in place. We have to be systematic when it comes to a national scale-up, but on a local level, the choice is life or death. Don’t wait.”
The challenge remains: How can we achieve mass acceptance and prioritization of this lifesaving practice? As SLL 360 moves forward, the focus will be on bridging this gap—turning research into action and ensuring that every newborn receives the care they need to survive and thrive.
