Model
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Every baby deserves their mother's first embrace.
250,000 newborns in Nigeria won't survive their first month. You can help change this.
The solution is Kangaroo Care

Kangaroo care (KC), holding a newborn against the parent's chest, is the WHO's top intervention to prevent death in premature and underweight newborns.
First Embrace equips wards and nurses in Nigerian government hospitals to deliver KC and works with the government to sustain it.
40%
Mortality Reduction
KC vs incubator care · Cochrane meta-analysis 21 RCTs ¹
~$3,000
Per Newborn Saved
First Embrace Year-1 projection¹ · Competitive with GiveWell top charities²
OUR MODEL
First Embrace embeds WHO-standard Kangaroo Care in Nigerian government hospitals
STEP 01
Train and equip nurses
We place trained kangaroo care nurses inside government hospitals and equip wards with everything they need to deliver it.
STEP 02
Deliver and track care
Every newborn receives WHO-standard skin-to-skin care, and every session is digitally tracked from admission to discharge.
STEP 03
Make it permanent
We work with state government to adopt kangaroo care into health policy and budgets, so it continues without us.


OUR IMPACT
Pilot results
Kano State, Nigeria

What we've achieved so far
We deployed a pilot program in Murtala Muhammad Hospital and Kano Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, one of Nigeria's highest-burden facilities for low birth weight newborns.
214
Newborns Cared For
85%
Received WHO-standard KC
15
Newborns
Saved
$2,083
Cost per Newborn Saved
Independently audited by Kano State Ministry of Health · Every figure ties to a row in our open ward register →

DONATE

$200 is one week of life.
Every $200 funds a vulnerable newborn through their first week of life, from admission through a full course of WHO-standard kangaroo mother care.
Recurring gifts let us plan expansion before each annual budget cycle. Predictable funding means we can commit to hospitals, train nurses, and procure equipment months in advance.
All donations are processed securely through Every.org. First Embrace is a registered charity in the UK and a registered NGO in Nigeria.
Choose your impact
$40
A day of life.
Protects a newborn for the first day of life, when half that will die, do.
$200
A week of life.
Protects one newborn through their first and most dangerous week of life, when 75% of newborn deaths occur.
$1600
A week of life for the entire ward.
Including equipment, data collection, and training for all families on the ward.
$2000
A life saved.
At our current cost-effectiveness, this is what it takes to save one newborn who would otherwise die.

MEET THE TEAM
Built by clinicians and local experts
Our founders and leads bring direct clinical experience from the wards where these deaths happen and the institutional knowledge to change them at scale.
Dr Wesley Quadros
Co-founder
Clinician with frontline neonatal experience across sub-Saharan Africa.
Ikra Gulzar
Co-founder
Lead Clinical Pharmacist experienced in policy approvals.
Prof. Zubaida Farouk
Head of Training
Professor of neonatology with experience shaping national KC clinical guidelines.
Dr Musa Sufi
Government Lead
Specialist in government health systems with established relationships across Kano State Ministry of Health.
ADVISED BY LEADERS FROM
Help us give every newborn the first embrace they need.
We believe in transparent sharing of our work to support collective impact in newborn health.
First Embrace is a fiscally sponsored project of Anti Entropy (EIN: 88-0967420), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. 2026.