The Front Line

International Activities

by Gerardo Cabrera-Meza, MD

A large challenge faced by most developing countries is the definitive control of diseases, such as infectious conditions or malnutrition, that for many years have determined child survival. Every year, about 500,000 children under 5 years of age die in the Americas region; around 50% of the infant mortality rate is neonatal. Of all children’s deaths, 20% are related to the perinatal period.

To address those needs, the World Health Organization and UNICEF have developed the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) strategy to decrease mortality in children under 5 years of age and to facilitate normal growth and development in that vulnerable population. The Baylor Section of Neonatology, through the participation of Dr. Gerardo Cabrera-Meza, has been actively involved in the overall development of the IMCI strategy and in the development of its neonatal component.

The first IMCI workshop, April 16 in Houston, drew the attendance of 15 physicians from 10 Latin American countries, along with more than 30 pediatricians and administrators from Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. The workshop was organized by Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, and the Pan-American Health Organization.

The IMCI Workshop was followed by the two-day 10th International Colloquium at Texas Children’s. More than 100 physicians from 15 countries participated in lectures, visits to several facilities of the Texas Medical Center, and patient rounds. As in previous years, a full one-third of the visiting pediatricians were interested mostly in the neonatal units at Ben Taub General Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital. Dr. Leonard Weisman, Head of Neonatology, presented an overview of neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine. The educational activities concluded with the 23rd Annual Pediatric Postgraduate Symposium organized by Baylor College of Medicine.

.