The Newborn Essential Solutions and Technologies (NEST360°) initiative is an international group led primarily by female engineers, physicians, health experts and entrepreneurs from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Malawi. Its goal is to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of newborn babies each year by providing the tools and training needed to support comprehensive neonatal care throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The first phase of the program will focus on Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, and Nigeria.
NEST360° is announcing $68 million in funding commitments from a consortium, including some of the world’s largest private foundations, for the first phase of an eight-year initiative to enable African hospitals to improve newborn survival by 50 percent and to establish a pipeline of local innovators, technicians and medical staff. Among the participating foundations are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, The ELMA Foundation, The Lemelson Foundation, the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Foundation.
Among the organizations participating in the effort are Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. In addition, several African educational institutions are involved including the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, the University of Malawi, and the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology
