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ESPID Approved Proposal for the 2021 Local Organizing Committee

ESPID are dfleighted to confirm the Local Organisers of the ESPID 2021 Geneva Annual Meeting have been approved to receive support for the follow project as per the terms and conditions of the LOC Grant:

Annual meeting (ESPID 2021) LOC Grant:
Paediatric Refugees from Ukraine in Switzerland: Evidence of current screening recommendations

Applicants
Nicole Ritz MD/PhD, Ulrich Heininger MD/Prof, Klara Posfay-Barbe MD/Prof

Background: By mid-2022 over 5 million Ukrainian refugees are registered in Europe of which over 55’000 have asked for asylum in Switzerland. Of those 40-50% are estimated to be children and adolescents. Transit, overcrowding, poor shelter, and vulnerability put refugees at risk for infectious diseases [1, 2]. Current consensus recommendations on medical care for Ukrainian refugee children were published recently [3]. These are mainly based on limited data and represent expert option. Accompanying research evaluating these recommendations and implementation is therefore required.

Methods: The current recommendation include the following topics: Language, general paediatrics, vaccinations, screening for hepatitis C (HCV), tuberculosis (TB), human immunodeficiency (HIV) virus and mental health issues. In this project screening for HCV, TB, HIV and vaccinations will be evaluated.
Participating centers will include the University Children’s Hospital Basel and Geneva and the Childrens’ Hospital Lucerne. Further paediatricans, private practitioners and screening centers may also participate. All participating children and families will be approached by written informed consent in Ukrainian language. A minimal dataset will be collected epidemiological data and screening information from the selected topics. The study will include patients screened from August/September 2022 until end of December 2022.

Relevance: The findings will form the bases of updated recommendations and serve as a proof of concept on how research and quality assessment of refugee recommendations can be done.

References

1. Brandenberger, J., et al., A systematic literature review of reported challenges in health care delivery to migrants and refugees in high-income countries - the 3C model. BMC Public Health, 2019. 19(1): p. 755.

2. Brandenberger, J., et al., The global COVID-19 response must include refugees and migrants. Swiss Med Wkly, 2020. 150: p. w20263.

3. Jaeger, F.N., et al., Paediatric refugees from Ukraine: guidance for health care providers. Swiss Med Wkly, 2022. 152(21-22).

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The Impact of War in Ukraine on Children by Vera Chechenyeva

Warning - Please note this video may be triggering for those who have been impacted by violence or war crimes

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ESPID Members - HELP FOR UKRAINE CRISIS

Dear ESPID members,

By this statement we, as ESPID board, strongly sympathize with our colleagues from the Ukraine. Children are among the primary victims of armed conflicts and we call on all parties to the conflict in Ukraine to protect our colleagues, children and their families from further violence.

We wholeheartedly hope that all will stay safe the coming time that is filled with fear and uncertainty.

We would like to reach out to the ESPID members from the Ukraine to see if we can offer help in any way. We would like to do whatever we can to support as much as possible in these extremely difficult times. A first request via pTBnet from Vera Chechenyeva (Kiev, Ukraine) to doctors from Poland, Romania, Moldova, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvia: could you, please, be so kind to send your contact data where our refugees can receive TB, ART or any pediatric help:

Country
City
Name of Institution
Address
Contact Name
Phone number (including country code please)
Email
support you can provide: TB Treatment, Antiretroviral Treatment, Common Pediatrician Help, Psychological, Social

Please send your contact data to the ESPID secretariat: admin@espid.org and this will be forwarded on and shared with pTBnet.

Please hold each other strongly and take care,

The ESPID Board

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CHILDREN‘S DOCTORS AGAINST THE WAR: CALL FOR ACTION NOW

Brussels, March 10, 2022

Two weeks have passed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Despite 141 countries voting in the UN General Assembly for the Russian army to stop fighting and withdraw from another sovereign country, Ukraine, the fighting is increasingly bloody and brutal. The war has led to 2.5 million people including about 1 million children fleeing from their homes and becoming refugees. There are 79 children confirmed killed including 18 months old infant in Mariupol. Most of child fatalities result from attacks from the air or with rockets.

We stand together with Ukrainian children, families and the heroic medical and nursing staff calling for the action now:

– we ask the governments of our countries to do more to ensure the safety of children in
Ukraine, to stop the war and first of all to stop rockets and bombs attacks on civil
infrastructure of Ukraine;
– we ask Russian paediatricians and especially leaders of paediatric organizations in Russia to
express clear and loud position against the war in Ukraine and to do everything in their power
to stop the war;
– we confirm once again solidarity and professional support for children’s doctors and nurses in
Ukraine.

Our voices are stronger than rockets and bombs! Slava Ukraine!

See full document with participants here

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ESPID Research Café

Dear ESPID member,

ESPID is happy to invite you to the opening of the ESPID Research Café, where you will be presented with ongoing research proposals, and the possibility of communicating and sharing your input with the authors.

The first research proposal comes from Bieke Tack, MD, PhD candidate, under the topic of International recommendations on blood culture sampling methods in neonates. Find out everything about it here.

We hope you enjoy your break at the ESPID Research Café!

ESPID Committee for Research