All newborns deserve the chance to survive and thrive. However, a quarter of the world’s newborns are born too early or too small, with wide-ranging implications. Please join Richard Horton, Editor in Chief of the Lancet, Kate McIntosh, senior editor of the Lancet Global Health, and a panel of experts at the Westin Cape Town hotel, as they unpack a new five-article Lancet Series which explores the global importance and possibilities of preventing the birth of Small Vulnerable Newborns (SVN). The panelists will address questions such as:
- Why it is important to increase attention to SVN, i.e., newborns who are preterm, small-for-gestational-age, or have low birth weight.
- How common are SVN births are in different world regions? Where has progress faltered, and why?
- What are the biological pathways that lead to SVN births?
- How a large share of SVN births and associated ill health could be prevented with a package of low-cost antenatal interventions.
The Lancet Series provides a scientific basis for action and calls for a global response to support a healthy start for every baby everywhere.
Tentative agenda:
Moderator: Ms. Rhobhi Matinyi, Director, Health Systems Strengthening, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), Kenya
Welcome and introduction
- Dr. Kate McIntosh, Senior Editor, the Lancet Global Health
- Dr. Richard Horton, Editor-in-chief, the Lancet (by video)
Series highlights
- Prof. Per Ashorn, Tampere University, Finland
- Prof. Joy Lawn, London School for Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
- Dr. Patricia Hunter, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UK
- Dr. Justus Hofmeyr, University of Botswana, Botswana
- Dr. Abdu Mohiddin, Aga Khan University, Kenya
Action implications – an interactive panel of stakeholders
- Dr. Md. Jahurul Islam, Deputy Program Manager, Newborn Health, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Bangladesh
- Ms. Ashley Muteti, Founder, Zuri Nzilani Foundation, Kenya
- Dr. Olufemi Oladapo, Head, Maternal and Perinatal Health Unit, World Health Organization, Switzerland
- Dr. Anne Beatrice Kihara, President-elect, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics, and Senior Lecturer, University of Nairobi, Kenya
- Dr. Rahul Rawat, Deputy Director, Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
Introduction to a video on Small Vulnerable Newborns
- Dr. Mihretab Salasibew, Director, Evidence, Measurement and Evaluation team, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, UK
Closing
- Dr. Kate McIntosh, Senior Editor, the Lancet Global Health