Accra: Some medical scientists and researchers have advised policymakers in the health sector to put premium on neonatal infection research to strengthen newborn care in Africa. They said the continent could reduce to the barest minimum life-threatening infections in newborns through evidence-based research focusing on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
According to Ghana News Agency, Professor John Amuasi, Lead of the SNIP-AFRICA Project in Ghana, highlighted the severe impact of neonatal infections, noting that they account for nearly 30 percent of all deaths in babies across Africa. He shared these insights during an interview on Thursday at the 2026 General Assembly Meeting of the Project in Accra, which convened researchers, clinicians, and health partners from 12 institutions across Africa and Europe.
SNIP-AFRICA (Severe Neonatal Infection Adaptive Platform Trials in Africa) is a multi-country research initiative aiming to enhance the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of life-threatening infections in newborns. Funded by the European Union under Global Health EDCTP3 and coordinated by Fondazione Penta ETS (Italy), the project seeks to innovate research on severe childhood infections, particularly neonatal sepsis.
By employing novel adaptive trial design elements, the project aims to generate evidence to improve antibiotic treatment of this deadly condition, thereby significantly enhancing the wellbeing of newborns and infants, who are at the highest risk of infection from difficult-to-treat bacteria. The trial plans to enroll approximately 1,200 neonates in six neonatal intensive care units in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda to foster a culture of knowledge-sharing and collaboration.
Prof Amuasi emphasized Ghana's leadership role in the SNIP-AFRICA consortium through the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. This year's General Assembly aimed to review the progress of the project's work packages, share research findings, and identify sustainable structures that could continue supporting neonatal infection research.
The key areas of focus included clinical and microbiological surveillance systems for neonatal infections, adaptive clinical trial platforms for evaluating treatments, as well as pharmacokinetics research to optimize drug dosing in newborns. Additionally, the project is providing a platform for capacity building and training for African researchers and healthcare workers, stakeholder engagement and policy integration, as well as legacy planning to ensure long-term impact.
Prof Amuasi stated that discussions and evidence generated at the meeting would contribute to shaping the future of neonatal infection research across the continent. The project sought to strengthen research and clinical skills across participating countries and support the development of the next generation of African scientists working in neonatal infection research.
Prof Julia Bielicki, the SNIP-Africa Scientific Coordinator, explained that the outcomes from the 2026 General Assembly were expected to improve how babies with severe infection in Africa were managed, focusing mainly on antibiotics use. She noted that in resource-limited settings, antibiotics treatment becomes crucial.
The Assembly shared research lessons on improving antibiotic administration to babies, focusing on accurate dosing and selecting appropriate antibiotics and treatments. The overall agenda is to identify new and better treatments for newborn sepsis, a leading cause of death in newborns in Africa.
'SNIP-AFRICA is a critical step in the fight against newborn sepsis, and we are confident that it will make a significant difference in the lives of newborns in Africa,' said Prof Bielicki, a Senior Researcher at the Centre for Neonatal and Paediatric Infection of St George's University of London, United Kingdom.