International Congress of Paediatrics

International Paediatric Association

First for Sub-Saharan Africa
 
International Congress of Paediatrics kicks off in Johannesburg

Tuesday, 3 August 2010 Health Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi will open the 26th International Congress of Paediatrics at the Sandton Convention Centre on Wednesday August 4 at 6.30pm. The congress runs until August 9.
 
It is the first time that the International Paediatric Association (IPA) is holding its conference in sub-Saharan Africa.
 
Graca Machel, wife of former president Nelson Mandela, will be addressing a Plenary session on Millennium Development Goals the following day on Prioritising Children.
 
Some 3000 participants will gather for the five-day conference, which is held under the auspices of the IPA, the South African Paediatric Association (SAPA) and the Union of African Paediatric Societies and Associations (UNAPSA).
 
The Congress President, Professor Keith Bolton, noting that this year will be the 100th anniversary of the IPA, said the congress programme contained a large mix of topics taken from both the developed and developing world and drawing well respected speakers who are experts in their fields from around the globe.
 
Among the many well-respected speakers will be South African Professor Hoosen Gerry Coovadia who is talking at a plenary session on Determinants of Child Health.  He will deliver an oration in memory of Professor Ihsan Dogramaci who died earlier this year in his nineties. He was a Turkish paediatrician and academic and one of the founding fathers of the IPA. An award is to be made for the first time in his name.

South Africa is one of only nine countries that have fallen behind in reaching the Millennium Development Goal of reducing global child mortality rates by sixty percent in five years time.  The Millennium Development Goals and its challenges are being tackled in several sessions. New scientific data on mortality figures and causes of death in South African public hospitals will be presented in a session on Quality of Care. Other speakers from countries with differing socio-economic profiles will also present papers on similar topics.
 
Other subjects range from parenting to childhood cancers and advances in treating them. There will be debates about childhood vaccines and topics such as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.  South Africa has one of the highest rates of this condition in the world.
 
In addition to this the conference will address current concerns around epilepsy, which according to Prof Bolton include diagnosis and access to treatment for children – particularly in poorer settings.  
 
Several sessions will be tackling the topic of HIV/AIDS and South African expert Dr Glenda Gray, will be among those presenting papers.  In separate sessions infectious diseases caused by bacteria will be dealt with as well. Tuberculosis, asthma and other lung conditions affecting children are the focus in separate sessions of papers and discussion.
 
 
For more information please contact:

• Professor Keith Bolton - 083 267 5382
• Pat Sidley - 082 414 4540 or pattykate@icon.co.za
• Or visit http://www2.kenes.com/ipa/Pages/Home.aspx

Issued by: Martina Nicholson Associates (MNA) on behalf of the International Paediatric Association