Keep a Child Alive (KCA), in strategic partnership with the Doris Mollel Foundation (DMF), today inaugurated Tanzania’s first Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Ngudu Hospital in Kwimba District, Mwanza Region.
The new facility is designed to care for more than 1,300 sick and low-birth-weight newborns each year, significantly expanding access to life-saving neonatal services in one of the country’s high-need rural regions.
The NICU is part of a broader initiative to close the newborn survival gap by building high-quality, sustainable, parent-centred neonatal care units across Africa, beginning in Tanzania.
Globally, an estimated 2.3 million newborns die each year, nearly half of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most neonatal deaths occur within the first days of life — a period when timely access to specialized care can mean the difference between survival and loss.
Families in Kwimba District have historically been forced to travel long distances — often more than 100 kilometers — along difficult routes to reach emergency neonatal services. These delays have contributed to preventable newborn deaths. The new NICU reduces that gap by placing critical care closer to where mothers give birth.
“Kwimba is the answer to a question we have asked for too long: how do we reach the unreachable? Not with grand policy alone, but with district-level infrastructure that puts care where the mothers are. This facility is a blueprint for every rural community across Africa still waiting for its first NICU,” said Prof. Mohamed Yakub Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa.
The facility has been designed to integrate into the local health system, equipped with essential neonatal technology, medical supplies, and trained healthcare staff. The model prioritizes parent-centred care, ensuring mothers and newborns can remain together whenever clinically possible.
“This NICU represents what is possible when partnership, commitment, and quality care come together,” said Antonio Ruiz-Gimenez, Executive Chairman & CEO of Keep a Child Alive. “Every newborn deserves a first chance at life, and this unit brings that chance closer to families who need it most.”
Doris Mollel, Founder of the Doris Mollel Foundation, added, “This unit is not just about infrastructure. It is about dignity, access, and hope for mothers and babies. It reflects what can be achieved when local leadership and global partnership align.”
The Kwimba NICU represents a scalable model for district-level neonatal care — demonstrating that sustainable, high-quality intensive care can be delivered in rural settings when infrastructure, training, and partnership converge.
For more information about the initiative, please visit: https://www.keepachildalive.org/every-life-news-updates-newborn-survival-initiative/
