Determined to save the life every child at birth, a renowned consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist and Provost, ESUT College of Medicine, Enugu, Professor Uchena Ekwochi will on Friday, August 8, 2025 Launch “STOP ASPHYXIA MOVEMENT” (SAM) to save newborn lives.

The events will hold at the ESUT College of Medicine Auditorium, Parklane GRA, Enugu commencing from 11 am.

A Consultant in Public Health and Enugu State Epidemiologist, Dr. Ogbodo Okechukwu will be the Chairman of the unveiling while Ven. Prof. Kenechukwu Iloh, Consultant Paediatrician/Neonatologist, UNTH, will be the Guest Lecturer. He will be dissecting the topic “Asphyxia, a leading cause of preventable deaths in our newborns. What shall we do?”

Speaking in an exclusive interview with ESUT Monitor on Thursday, Convener of SAM, Professor Ekwochi said that formation of the Stop Asphyxia Movement was borne out his years of consultancy in which he has overseeing the birth of over 7, 000 sick newborn babies and the need to rally support to save a newborn life.

He also spoke about the vision and mission of the Movement as well as categories of membership

“Birth asphyxia remains a major threat to newborns, leading to avoidable deaths and long-term health complications. This movement seeks to educate, advocate, and implement solutions to reduce asphyxia-related fatalities. It aims to serve as a platform for health workers, policymakers, and families to collaborate and take action. 

“SAM as a movement, is a product of my decades of experience as a Consultant Paediatrician and Neonatologist. SAM is very much open for interested individuals and lovers of newborns to join the movement to stop Asphyxia amongst newborns in our environment

“The vision is to stop Asphyxia amongst newborns in resources limited settings. The Mission is to – leverage on technology and establishment of an “Asphyxia Day” (AD); create massive awareness about asphyxia, train birth attendants on newborn resuscitation and other newborn care services and to promote facility delivery by pregnant women in our environment,” he said.

With the motto “Save the first breath, Save the future” Professor Ekwochi explained that membership of SAM has six categories which include Paediatrician/Neonatologists, Obstetricians, Nurses/Midwives, Policy Makers, Other Healthworkers interested in newborns health and Philanthropist and lovers of newborns.

Membership Registration is free while interested individuals are urged to contact 08032108401 and 08034354005 

“Together, we can stop asphyxia, protect our newborns, and secure their future! Spread the word! Let’s make Enugu a model for newborn care in Nigeria,” he emphasised.  

Asphyxia is a medical condition in a newborn caused by lack of oxygen or excess of carbon dioxide in the body usually caused by interruption of breathing or insufficient oxygen supply and resulting in unconsciousness and often death and the unveiling of SAM on Friday signals a giant leap towards curtailing one of the leading causes of newbor deaths in Nigeria.

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By Ikechukwu Odu

A Professor of Paediatrics at the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Prof. Uchenna Ekwochi, on Thursday, identified inability to initiate and sustain respiration (asphyxia), prematurity and infection as leading causes of newborn mortality.

Prof. Ekwochi, who is the Provost of the Enugu State University College of Medicine (ESUCOM) explained that if the process of birth is laborious, the newborn may suffer a multi-systemic stress leading to asphyxiation which may cost the life of the newborn.

He made the disclosure while discussing the topic “The Travails of the Minor of Minors in Our Resource Limited Settings: Unveiling the Neglected Roadmap to Addressing the Giants and Taming the Tide,” as the 46th inaugural lecturer of ESUT, at the capacity-filled College Auditorium in Parklane, Enugu State.

In the case of premature birth, he explained that the travails would be enormous for the newborn due to the immaturity of the organs and systems to assume physiologic functions to sustain life independent of its mother.

A renowned National Trainer in Newborn health, with 22 years of experience in paediatrics, Ekwochi equally explained that if the process of delivery and care in the child’s immediate environment is not optimal, the baby may become infected (neonatal sepsis.)

Prof Ekwochi further stressed that the three aforementioned factors stand as giants claiming the lives of the newborns globally, adding that Sub-saharan Africa, and Southern and Central Asia bear the heaviest burden of newborn deaths.

He also identified poor parental background, rural births, maternal age and no maternal education as associated causes of high newborn mortalities in the country.

While calling for the establishment of World Asphyxia Day to draw global attention and awareness o the scoruge, he recommended the re-accreditation of all maternities and facilities used for delivery, government subsidization and regulation of cost of child birth in approved delivery centres.

In his opening address, the Vice Chancellor of ESUT, Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, thanked the Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, for his continued support to the Institution, stating that ESUT boasts of state-of-the-art equipment, especially in medical disciplines courtesy of the state government’s support.

While commending the lecturer for a good outing, the Vice Chancellor used the occasion to re emphasize the importance of inaugural lectures, stating that they serve as public acknowledgement of professors’ academic achievements, as they afford the lecturers the opportunity to showcase their research, innovations, engagements and teaching endeavours as well as their future research plans.

He also thanked the Chairman of the ESUT Governing Council, Sir, Chinyeaka Ohaa, and another member of the Council, Sir Dr. Innocent Akuvue, for their support for academic excellence through N1000,000, N500, 000 largesse to every inaugural lecturer.
In his remarks at the occasion, the Secretary to Enugu State Government SSG, Prof Chidiebere Onyia feted the Inaugural Lecturer for the rich content, and excellent delivery of his lecture and the ways forward.

The SSG noted that the lecture was good enough to provoke government’s attention at State and national levels and therefore called on the lecturer to liaise with the most outstanding Vice Chancellor in Nigeria (Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie) to package a proposal on the need for “Asphyxia Day” to the State Government for further discussions.

While also congratulating the lecturer, the chairman of ESUT Inaugural Lectures Committee, Prof. Mellitus Ezeamaenyi, stated that frequent academic discourses such as inaugural lectures have greatly improved the visibility and webo metric rankings of the University.

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By Joseph Joy and Onyekachi Agu

Safeguarding lives particularly that of infants or new-born babies could be considered a herculean task, but to Professor Uchenna Ekwochi, doing such is a hobby, a passion and a calling.

Professor Ekwocchi who is the Provost, ESUT College of Medicine, stated on Thursday that he has managed and taking care of over 7000 new-born babies since he started his profession as a medical practitioner specializing in children and their related diseases.

Professor Ekwochi who delivered the Enugu State University of Science and Technology 46^th Inaugural Lecture on Thursday, said that taking care of new-borns is not just his profession but a passion.

“My Profession is my hobby, a deep passion. In 2012, when I returned from residency and got employed at ESUT Teaching Hospital as a paediatrician, I reopened the new-born unit. The new-born unit was formerly opened, but when the consultant working there exited the system, it was shut down. When I came on board, I reopened it, and I have managed over 7,000 sick new-borns in the unit,” Prof Ekwochi who is a Professor of Paediatrics and a Consultant, stated while delivering the lecture held at the ESUT College of Medicine Auditorium, Parklane, Enugu

He however explained that carrying out such tasks could not have been a personal efforts. He noted that he has a team of consultants who coordinate the work.

“Well, I have a team; it’s not a one-man show but a teamwork. I started alone in 2012; in 2014, they employed another consultant to join me. We started with 2 but now we have more than 5 resident doctirs in the new-born unit. I have another consultant that works with me. It has grown because initially, we had a bed capacity of less than 10, but as am talking to you, there are more than 20 for each of the sections. We have the inborn and the out-born sections, and we have managed quite a lot of babies, over 7, 000 of them.

“ESUT Teaching Hospital is like a referral centre since UNTH moved from the Metropolis; all the babies that get issues around this area have no other paediatric ward than to come to Newborn Unit in ESUT Teaching Hospital.”

He also talked about inadequate manpower to handle the volume of new-born babies and called on the Enugu State Government to consider engaging more hands in that regard.

“Most times, our bed occupancy rate would be more than 95 percent. Every time you enter there, we don’t have enough manpower and human resources. So, the aftermath is that workers are overburdened. This place is filled every time with several cases coming. Some of these cases can actually be prevented. That’s what I actually made people know in this lecture. If we do what we ought to do, there are so many cases coming in that wouldn’t have come because we have given them preventive measures.

“Some of them are coming as complications and not as signs and symptoms of the illness. Example: yellowness of the skin and the eye, which can damage the brain. Most mothers in our environment, instead of coming to tell you that ‘I have a baby that is having yellowness of the eyes,’ but they will not come until the baby has refused to suck—that means the disease has entered the brain and damaged the brain. That’s when the mother would recognize. ‘My baby is no more sucking; the leg and hand are stiff.’ It’s already complicated. The reason why it’s like that is because they didn’t even know when the baby became sick.

“I also called on the government to engage more hands in the Teaching Hospital,” concluded.

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By Amaechi Agbo

On Thursday, May 8, 2025, Professor Uchenna Ekwochi will deliver the 46^th Inaugural Lecture of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT.

Dr Ekwochi, a Professor of Paediatrics Medicine (Neonatology Subspecialty) and consultant, is the Provost, ESUT College of Medicine (ESUCOM).

Prior to his appointment on March 12, 2024 as the Provost, ESUT College of Medicine, Dr Ekwochi was a Paediatrician consultant with the Enugu State University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, ESUTH. He equally served in several committees in the College, University and the State. He once served as a member of the Enugu State Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, also delivered some invited public lectures and seminars.

Fondly called the ESUCOM IGP – Internally Generated Provost – Professor Ekwochi’s academic certificates resonate. He holds the following certification: (FMCPaed, MBBS, Cert. Leadership and Management in Health, University of Washington; Certified in Logistics and Supply Chain- ESUT, Multimix Academy.

He qualified as a Medical Doctor in February 2003 from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka and obtained a Fellowship of National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria, Faculty of Paediatrics in November 2011.

He was appointed Consultant Paediatrician (Neonatology unit) in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH) in December 2011. He has authored and co-authored 94 journal articles in (Google Scholar Metrics; Citation 1659, h-index 24, i-10-index 34; Research Gate; 42,415 READS, 1,149 Citations) as at 23/01/2025.

The Provost also participated in peer review of journal manuscripts, supervision of postgraduate dissertations and as an Examiner at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels especially in the Faculty of Paediatrics, National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria.

Prof Ekwochi is a clinical and academic Paediatrician with special interest in Neonatal Care and have collaborated with several local and international researchers. He co-invented a special tape in Neonatal care for identification and care of Low Birth Weights babies (Patented as ‘’NUA Tape’’ by the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) under the Patents and Designs Act; CAP 344 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 with Certificate No RP:NG/P/2018/135).

He is a National Trainer in new-born health and have participated in developing some important technical documents like the “New-born Action Plan” for two (2) states of the federation (Enugu and Ebonyi States) and also in the development of the Enugu State Quality of Care (QOc) Operational Plan, 2022.

Before his appointment as the Provost, he served as the Head of department of Paediatrics and the Secretary General of the Medical and Dental Consultant Association of Nigeria, ESUTH chapter. He equally served in several committees in the College, University and the State. He once served as a member of the Enugu State Committee on Prerogative of Mercy, also delivered some invited public lectures and seminars.

Professor Uchenna Ekwochi is also an award winner, as he has won some grants including important academic accolades such as Best Lecturer (Clinical Department) ESUT College of Medicine 2012/2013 session (Certified by the University governing council).

Prof Ekwochi’s Inaugural Lecture, the 4^th to be delivered by the ESUCOM Professors, will centre on the theme: “The Travails of the Minor or Minors in our Resource Limited Setting: Unveiling the Neglected Roadmap to Addressing the Giants and Taming the Tide” will hold at the College Auditorium, commencing from 11am.

A National Trainer in new-born health, Prof Ekwochi have participated in developing some important technical documents like the “New-born Action Plan” for two (2) states of the federation (Enugu and Ebonyi States) and also in the development of the Enugu State Quality of Care (QOc) Operational Plan, 2022.  

It is worthy to note that on March 12, 2025, the IGP marked his one year in office as Provost, ESUT College of Medicine and rolled out his transformative achievements in the College within 365 days.

Prof Ekwochi, the 46^th Inaugural Lecturer, will not only be delivering his lecture on May 8 which is expected to be expository, but will also be “inducted” into the “Distinguished Professors” Hall of Fame in ESUT.

He will also be the 4^th Inaugural Lecturer in the ESUT College of Medicine.

The 46th Inaugural Lecture is coming less four weeks after the Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, ESUT, Professor Charles Chime delivered the 45th Inaugural Lecture at the Barr Dr Peter Mbah Auditorium at ESUT Main Campus, Agabni

ESUT Monitor Newspaper will be your eyes, ears and nose on the day as we will bring you live coverages of the lecture via our social media platforms.

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By MC Mazi

Enugu – In another mileage of signposting the activities of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) and stamping its feet as the Flagship Newspaper of the university community, the ESUT Monitor Newspaper has come out with a SPECIAL EDITION to mark Professor Uchenna Ekwochi’s One Year in office as the Provost, ESUT College of Medicine, ESUCOM.

The 16-page Sepcial Edition chronicles Prof Ekwochi’s rise to the Provostship of the College and his landmark transformative leadership one year after assuming office.

The Special Edition further marks the ESUT Monitor’s rising pedigree not just within the University community but in Enugu State.

Dr Ekwochi, a Professor of Paediatrics and a consultant, has demystified ESUCOM with his innovative ideas and welfare of staff and students.

The latest edition, making it three times the ESUT Monitor Newspaper (EMN) hardcopy is being published in this semester – Convocation Edition in November 2024, Matriculation Edition in February 2025 – is dedicated to Prof Uchenna Ekwochi’s one Year pragmatic administration at the ESUCOM.

The Paper will start circulating today, and despite coming out with a price tag of ₦1000 per copy, Prof Ekwochi who singlehandedly sponsored the publication, said that staff, students and friends of the College and ESUT at large, will collect copies free.

This Is A Landmark Record, We are Making Progress – Dr Ezinwa, HOD Mass Comm

Responding to the mileage, the Head of Department, Mass Communication, Barr Dr Chidiebere Anthony Ezinwa described the production of the Special Edition as a landmark record particularly coming out less than three weeks after the production of the Matriculation Edition.

Dr Ezinwa noted that the production was made more tasking considering that it came out during examination and the EMN Reporters are not available.

While congratulating the Provost on his one year in office and the significant strides recorded, Dr Ezinwa praised the commitment of the students who despite their examinations schedule took part in the reportage as well as the EMN Staff Adviser for shouldering the daunting responsibility of packaging the Special Edition.

“Three Newspapers in a semester, sounds very unreal but that is the commitment and determination the department places on ESUT Monitor Newspaper. Recall that when the newspaper started over three decades ago, it’s published once in a session. But after the revival, the system has changed .

“Today we have a Special Edition commemorating the outstanding one year in office of Professor Uchenna Ekwochi as Provost, ESUT College of Medicine. He singlehandedly sponsored the production of the paper and we are grateful to him and the ESUCOM Management Board.

“Coming out at this period is very challenging because we just published the Matriculation Edition which came out on February 24. Today, March 12, another edition is out. Added to that is the fact that the students despite their ongoing examinations took part in the coverage and reportage of events but couldn’t participate in the editing and finishing end. This leaves the Staff Adviser, Mr Amaechi Agbo with a staggering task to shoulder and I am happy that, as always, they delivered.

“Let me use this opportunity to congratulate the Provost on his one year anniversary. The Provost is a keen supporter and reader of EMN and we can’t thank him enough. He has demonstrated the can-do spirit to reposition the College in line with the vision of our Vice Chancellor, Prof Aloysius-Michaels Okolie,” he said.

Prof Uchenna Ekwochi assumed office as the Provost, ESUT College of Medicine, ESUCOM, on March 12, 2024. He replaced Late Prof Innocent Okafor who died on December 9, 2023.

ESUT Monitor Newspaper is a publication of the Department of Mass Communication, ESUT. EMN is primarily to serve as the training medium for Mass Communication students and to promote and propagate activities of the University.

The Latest edition is making it the SIXTH since the EMN was relauchned in November 2023.

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Enugu – The Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT College of Medicine has put plans in motion to establish an autopsy, embalmment and mortuary centres.

Provost of the College, Professor Uchenna Ekwochi disclosed this on Monday during a town hall meeting with the staff.  

Professor Ekwochi who lauded the Governor of Enugu State, Barr Dr Peter Ndubuisi Mbah for his support to the College, said that the establishment of the two centres are part of efforts to ensure that students in the College are giving the first-hand knowledge they need to acquire before they leave the institution.

He added that when established, the centres will not only provide experiential learning as championed by His Excellency, but will also serve the good people of Enugu State, South East region and Nigeria generally.

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