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 not mature. They struggle to breathe. They cannot control temperature. Blood sugar is all over the place. And infections,” Dr. Odedina explained.
“Imagine a 26-week baby delivered in a church. There is no skill there to resuscitate. Some centers still slap newborns, causing fractures.”
At Haven, babies get surfactant – the expensive medication that helps immature lungs expand and CPAP or ventilators if needed.
“The machine we have can take over the breathing of the child and tell you exactly what measure of oxygen the child is getting. Not guessing with a bottle.”
Why Babies Are Born Too Early
As a neonatologist and trainer in neonatal resuscitation, Dr. Odedina sees the root causes daily. “The number one problem is that most mothers still don’t go for antenatal care. They don’t register at hospitals. Some still go to deliver in churches and other places where they are not monitored,” he said.
Conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, and untreated infections can trigger early labour. IVF pregnancies with multiple fetuses also overstretch the womb.
“When you register, your BP, blood sugar, and urine are checked and treated. And if early delivery is inevitable, we give injections to help the baby’s lungs mature before arrival.”
That is why Haven now partners directly with obstetricians and IVF centers. “We tell them: we can take this problem off your hands. If it is a planned delivery, we can come with an ambulance and transport incubator, receive the baby, stabilize, and transfer to our facility. The babies that come this way are the ones that recover with little or no side effects.”
Fighting The ‘GRA Is For Big People’ Perception
Haven’s biggest challenge isn’t medicine. It’s perception. We struggle with people hearing ‘Ikeja GRA’ and assuming it’s going to cost an arm and a leg,” Dr. Odedina admitted.
“I don’t want to create an impression that this is an elitist hospital. My goal in life is to save as many children as possible.”
The hospital is actively courting referrals. They have partnered with schools and churches like Archbishop Vining Memorial Church Cathedral. They have engaged hospitals and HMOs – Haven works with over 15 major Health Management Organisations in Nigeria. When the NICU opened, the Chairman was the CMD of LASUTH, Prof. Adetokunbo Fabamwo. “A lot of prominent pediatricians were there, and they all gave their thumbs-up”, he pointed out quickly.
He even sees diaspora patients flying in from the UK to see Haven’s allergist, dermatologist, ENT, and cardiologist because of long waiting times abroad.
“And yes, Iya Sukurat in Bariga can access care here,” he said. “Through out-of-pocket payment plans, and through HMOs. Our prices are comparable to, or even lower than, the private arms of many teaching hospitals.”
More Than NICU
Dr. Odedina is quick to say Haven is not just about premature babies. “We don’t want us to just focus on NICU. Any specialty in pediatrics, Haven offers it.”
He also holds a senior position at a government children’s hospital on Lagos Island. He said there is no conflict. “I’ve never diverted a patient. But I see the challenges there. This is highly capital intensive. The kind of equipment and cleaning we do is difficult to sustain in government hospitals.”
The Mission
For Dr. Odedina, it comes back to one thing: survival. “The peculiarity with premature babies is that there are too many things that can go wrong. I can have a 26-week baby and discharge that baby without any issue. Meanwhile, a 33-week baby may die. Nobody can guarantee survival. But we can guarantee you the best chance.”
Haven Pediatrics is still young. But its message is clear: every child deserves a pediatrician, the right equipment, and a fighting chance, whether you come from GRA or Bariga.
“Call us. Chat with us. Come in,” Dr. Odedina said, adding, “Because the world needs all the good that we can do for our children.”
