Dr. Adegbajo Odedina once planned to join the wave of Nigerian doctors leaving the country. But he walked away from that plan and from a comfortable life abroad to come home with a mission. Faced with Nigeria’s staggering child and neonatal mortality rates, the pediatrician and neonatologist set out to build something different: a hospital that treats only children. What started as a modest 9-to-5 clinic in GRA, Ikeja, has grown into Haven Pediatrics, a 24-hour mono-specialist facility. Here, there are no adult wards. Just pediatric consultants, a NICU, and every sub-specialty a child might need, all under one roof. For premature babies and children with complex conditions, it is a place built for one purpose: to give them specialists, equipment, and round-the-clock care and a real fighting chance. Writes MARY NNAH At 1am on a quiet night, the phone at Haven Pediatrics rang. A baby, just 4 days old, was being rushed in from a general hospital in the Iyana Ipaja axis. The child was already on a makeshift “bottle CPAP” – tubes in a bottle of water being used to push oxygen. “We see this too often,” said Dr. Adegbajo Odedina, Chief Medical Director of Haven Pediatrics. “By the time some babies get to us, they have lost precious hours.” Four hours later, that baby was on a proper CPAP machine, in a temperature-controlled incubator, under the watch of a pediatrician. It is the save Dr. Odedina left the UK for. There Is Something I Can Fix Dr. Odedina trained and worked in both public and private hospitals in Nigeria and abroad. Like many doctors, he once planned to leave for good. “Several years ago, I made up my mind, like the average Nigerian doctor, to pack my bags and leave the country,” he recalled. “But while I was there, I was very uncomfortable, and I had to come back. I came back with the mindset that there is a need in my community here.” That need is stark: Nigeria has one of the highest under-five and neonatal mortality rates in the world. A neonate is a child in the first 28 days of life. Premature babies are the most vulnerable. “So I teamed up with some friends, and we decided that we are going to start a hospital exclusively for children, where they can get quality, affordable care.” On March 20, 2025, Haven Pediatrics opened in GRA, Ikeja. Not a mother-and-child hospital. Not a general hospital. Just children. One Roof, Every Pediatric Specialty Haven started as a 9am to 5pm clinic. Within months, it went 24 hours a day, with admissions. What makes it different, Dr. Odedina insists, is simple: there is always a pediatrician. “You have access to a pediatrician every day of the week. On Sundays, we are not seated there, but there is a doctor available. And if need be, a consultant will come.” But it goes deeper. Haven is a “mono-specialist” hospital, meaning everything inside it is about pediatrics and pediatric subspecialties. “We have pediatric cardiology for children with heart problems. Neurology for brain problems. Nephrology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, orthopedic surgery, neonatology, endocrinology, ENT, optometry, speech therapy, behavioural disorders,” Dr. Odedina listed. “We also do school health screening, all immunizations, and work closely with dental facilities. It’s a one-stop place. Everything is pediatrics; you will find it under one roof. You can call us, chat with us on Instagram or WhatsApp, and we will book an appointment.” The consultants, he said, are not fresh graduates. “They have several years’ experience. They work in several places in and out of the country. In fact, one of my teachers in postgraduate medical school is also part of our team”, he noted. Beyond the people is the infrastructure. “There is no issue of power. The lab is fully functional. It is clean. It is comfortable. We have the equipment to back it up,” he says. The ₦2 Million Lifeline For Preemies Haven’s most expensive service is its Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). And that is deliberate. “For as little as 2 million Naira, you have access to NICU for about a week,” Dr. Odedina explained. “You don’t have to pay everything at once”, he added. In a country where NICU care in some private hospitals “costs an arm and a leg,” he believes Haven is among the cheapest. Registration is ₦10,000. Consultations run from 9 am to 6 pm, Monday to Saturday. The NICU itself is built for the smallest fighters. The ventilators can support babies from 0.4kg, though Haven’s minimum acceptance is 26 weeks because of infection control. The unit is deep-cleaned three times a week and cleaned daily. Staff observe strict hand-washing and gowning protocols. Why does it matter? Because premature babies die from very basic failures. “The lungs are no
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