AFRICAN NEONATAL NETWORK (ANN)

March 4, 2023

About:

The African Neonatal Network (ANN) is a collaborative quality-improvement (QI) learning community built around a shared digital clinical database, and whose objective is to save as many lives as possible. The ANN began in 2022 as a partnership between the African Neonatal Association and Vermont Oxford Network (VON), piloting in Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Zimbabwe. We have now 26 hospitals in 9 countries including the original 5 plus Zambia, Botswana, Mozambique, and Kenya.

The ANN has a faculty of national leads, QI experts, data experts , a nursing lead, and family a lead. It aims to build capacity for health informatics, clinical epidemiology and quality improvement in Africa as well as education, advocacy and research.

We meet ‘network-wide’ monthly and share context-specific learnings. We are progressing through 7 discrete quality improvement projects addressing some of the lowest hanging fruit to improve neonatal outcomes in African neonatal units.

We have completed QI collaboratives on Ward register and unit data, kangaroo mother care (KMC), and infection prevention and control. We have recently begun on respiratory support for preterm babies as part of our CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) collaborative utilising equipment recently donated by the ANN to its hospitals across the network. CPAP equipment and usage will be collected through a CPAP audit form.

All faculty wrote and published articles in the Journal of African Neonatalogy. Articles pertained to 14 ANN hospitals and ranged from immediate care and neonatal resuscitation to iKMC, oxygen therapy, to characteristics of infants discharged and many more.

Above and beyond our QI projects, ANN sites are currently carrying out a probiotics implementation study in Rwanda and Nigeria. Explore the Probiotics Implementation resources supporting the implementation of the study. This implementation went live in July 2026 and is due to run until June 2027.

The ANN is an inclusive family. Any unit can join and participate for free. We have resources and training available for free, and those units who would like to follow the path to full integration into our highest levels of the network can follow a structured and mentored path.

ANN Faculty

Dr Alex Stevenson, Principal Investigator, Director of Global Health, VON, USA; Neonatologist Zimbabwe
Dr Danielle Ehret, Principal Investigator, President and CEO, VON, USA
Dr Mahlet Abayneh, Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Ethiopia
Dr Victoria Nakibuuka, Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Uganda
Dr John Baptiste Nkuranga, Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Rwanda
Dr Olufunke Bolaji Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Nigeria
Dr Leah Seaman, Clinical Investigator, Zambia
Dr Jonathan Stryko, Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Botswana
Dr Joyce Ventura, Clinical Investigator, Neonatologist, Mozambique
Dr Melissa Muparamoto, Clinical Investigator, Zimbabwe
Dr Misraak Tadesse, Neonatologist, USA
Pam Henderson, Programme Manager, Zimbabwe
Dr Erika Edwards, Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Data Science, VON, USA
Redeat Workneh, Nurse Lead, Ethiopia
Tendai Mutema , Family Lead, Zimbabwe
Veronica Moses, Data Manager, Zimbabwe
Helina Selam, Global Health Manager VON, USA
Dr Franck Houndjahou Ghislain

ANN Participating Hospitals

Rwanda

King Faisal Hospital, Kirehe Level II Teaching Hospital, Kibuye Level II Teaching Hospital, Butaro Level II Teaching Hospital

Ethiopia

St Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College, Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Tirunesh Beijing, Assosa Hospital, Hawassa Referal Hospital, Ayder Referal Hospital, Abebech Gobena MCH, Soddo Christian General Teaching Hospital

Nigeria

Federal Teaching Hospital, Ido-Ekiti (FETHI), Sacred Heart Hospital (SHH), Uniosun Teaching Hospital, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Bida

Uganda

Nsambya hospital, Mengo Hospital, Lubaga Hospital, Jinja Regional Referral Hospital

Zimbabwe

Mbuya Nehanda Maternity Hospital, Neocare Baby Hospital, Murambinda Mission Hospital

Mozambique

Hospital Central de Maputo

Zambia

Kapiri Mposhi District Hospital

Botswana

Princess Marina Hospital

Kenya

Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital

Data is collected from multiple standardised streams:

A standardised admission and discharge form that collects data on every baby admitted into the neonatal unit (VON Core Data Sheet).
Global Neonatal Database – Manual of Operations
An annual Membership Facility Survey that collects standardised information about the Inputs and processes and each participating neonatal unit
Standardised mini-audits that allow units to look at specific issues in more granular detail
Parent and family feedback

QI Projects done to date

In August 2025, all 27 ANN participating hospitals came together in Kigali, Rwanda, to share their experiences and showcase their quality improvement work through poster presentations. The conference provided a valuable platform for teams to exchange knowledge, share expertise, and learn from one another’s successes and challenges in improving neonatal care.

View the 2025 ANN Hospital Posters here