MSF Paediatric Days 2019

The third edition of the MSF Paediatric Days took place in Stockholm at Karolinska University Hospital on April 5 & 6, 2019.

SUMMARY

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Paediatric Days was established in order to fill the gaps around research, programming, and cost-effective strategies adapted to the low-resource and unstable settings that MSF works in. The conference brings together many actors collectively delivering paediatric health care in humanitarian settings all around the world to share experiences, projects, innovation, successes, and failures with the common objective of improving the neonatal, paediatric and adolescent care provided by MSF.

This, the third of MSF’s Paediatric Days has had the highest attendance so far, with 245 participants from 47 countries gathering in Stockholm, Sweden, on 5-6 April 2019, plus approximately 735 online streaming viewers. The four main topics were addressed in expert panel sessions with invited speakers, joined by MSF medical and non-medical representatives, for further discussion from an operational perspective. The first session, on respiratory support in neonates and children, and progress in MSF settings, focused on the feasibility of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) systems, and sharing different field experiences. The second session, on the challenging nature of management of malnourished infants aged under 6 months, addressed an internationally recognised problem, currently receiving attention from all MSF sections. The third session addressed the topic of child protection in disasters and humanitarian settings, and the long-debated role of MSF in this field. The fourth, and last, session focused on the broad topic of the changing landscape of paediatric non-communicable diseases in humanitarian settings. Furthermore, 17 oral presentations were presented in plenary and 61 posters were displayed at the venue.

The “PaedTalk” format provided an opportunity for MSF and non-MSF colleagues to share their work and personal experiences via 6 varied presentations, ranging from academic experts introducing a new concept in global health, such as humanitarian paediatrics, to experienced MSF workers reflecting on the evolution of the organisation and the needs of the contexts they are working in, Talks also provided insights into the challenges faced by field level health workers and policy makers within the global health cluster, and those of the highly specialised MSF telemedicine collaborators.

Two training exercises were held in the days prior to the main meeting, “Newborn Care” and “Helping Babies Breathe, Training of Trainers”. Additionally, a “Pediatric Hackathon” was held, as well as four workshops the day after the conference: “Quality improvement in MSF paediatric projects”, “Opportunities for point-of-care ultrasound for children in MSF settings”, “Introduction to writing a case report” and “Respiratory care in low-resource settings”.

KEY MESSAGES

The key messages and recommendations from the meeting relate to MSF operations, MSF field activities, topics urgently requiring advocacy, and research needs, to improve quality and facilitate the delivery of paediatric care and outcomes in humanitarian settings.

Read the full version of MSF Paediatric Days Key messages:

MSF Key Messages 2019 - English

MSF Messages clés 2019 - Français

MSF Mensajes clave 2019 - Español

MSF Mensagens chave 2019 - Português

MSF Key Messages 2019 - Arabic