Wheel of (Mis)Fortune: Global Partnerships to Tackle Pediatric Infectious Diseases

Session Description

Although non-communicable diseases have replaced infections as the leading cause of mortality globally, in children under the age of 5 years, infectious diseases such as acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and malaria still predominate. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted disease reduction programs that were aimed at tackling pediatric infectious diseases.

Innovative treatments for infectious diseases are often slow to reach paediatric populations. Studies conducted in children do not equate to access to novel medicines to children globally. As a child, your chances of surviving into adulthood are very dependent on the wheel of (mis)fortune.
We will use an interactive quiz show format to communicate key considerations to expedite R&D globally for pediatric infectious diseases.

Global Health partnerships: Organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and public-private partnerships have worked with regulatory authorities to strengthen global health systems and improve access to healthcare and other interventions for children. An example of how an innovator company worked with global organizations and generic companies to expedite access of a novel medicine for children will be used.

Research and Development: Quantitative R&D plays a significant role in understanding diseases and developing efficacious treatment and preventive measures. Collaboration among researchers, institutions, and countries is essential to develop evidence-based strategies. We will provide examples from novel platforms for pediatric clinical trials, and in particular evaluation of drugs in neonates.

Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing: Collaborative efforts aim to strengthen healthcare systems, enhance local capacity and promote knowledge sharing. This includes training healthcare professionals, sharing best practices, and facilitating technology transfer; however, challenges remain. We will provide examples of the role of Pediatric Infectious Diseases networks in operationalizing clinical trials in LMIC.
Prioritization of child health is crucial for ensuring that future generations are protected from infectious diseases and that the wheel of (mis)fortune can be re-spun.

Learning Objectives

1. Upon completion, participants will be able to define the challenges of different pediatric sub-groups, from neonates, infants, young children, and adolescents with focus on specific vulnerabilities– neonatal physiology and adolescent behaviors.
2. Upon completion, participants will be able to understand how innovative platforms are being developed that enable the study of InfectDis in neonates & how the application of quantitative approaches can accelerate regulatory approval of the medicine.
3. Participants will further be able to understand: burden of pediatric InfectDis, disparities in treatment/outcome access globally; collaboration roles between pediatric InfectDis networks+pharma-companies to accelerate pediatric studies