International scientific conference for neonatologists opens in Kyiv under the "Cradles of Hope" program of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation

Today, within the framework of the "Cradles of Hope" program and in the partnership with the National Project “New Life”, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation has opened international scientific conference “Modern approaches to organizing and providing care for premature newborns” for neonatologists, child anesthesiologists and emergency physicians. Valeriy Vakariuk, Deputy Head of the Board of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, and Victor Sirman, director of the National Project “New Life”, have taken part in the official opening of the conference which will last from November 28 to November 30.

The purpose of the conference, which itself is a new step in implementation of the educational component of the “Cradles of Hope”, is to train Ukrainian neonatologists, to introduce them to new international practices, to implement advanced approaches of care for premature infants and to have a direct dialogue with the top professionals. The Victor Pinchuk Foundation invited nearly 130 specialists from all regions of Ukraine, including staff members from existing perinatal centers, and those who will work in the “New Life” centers to open in the future. Also conference participants include chief regional neonatologists, doctors from “Cradles of Hope” partner centers, and representatives of neonatology departments of Ukraine’s medical schools.

ValeriyVakariuk, Deputy Head of the Board of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation: "We understand that today it is not enough to simply provide neonatal centers with the latest equipment: the level of professionalism of medical staff is also essential. And for this purpose we have introduced educational component, and this conference is a part of it. Such educational events have been organized by the Foundation since 2006, but this is the first time we welcome such a wide audience of Ukrainian doctors and high level foreign experts as speakers. The Foundation intends to continue organizing such conferences under the "Cradles of Hope" program, and it will be a new stage of implementation of the program’s educational mission."

VictorSirman, Director of the National Project “New Life”: “In Ukraine, every year more than 3,000 children are born with very low birth weight - less than 1,500 grams, including about 1,000 children with extremely low birth weight - less than 1,000 grams. And today we are no longer discussing whether it is necessary to care for deeply premature children with very low and extremely low birth weight. A deeply premature newborn baby is a citizen of Ukraine with the right to medical care guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine, just as any other citizen of the country. And the rights of every child are protected by international instruments, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Today’s issue is about the most efficient way to help deeply premature children to survive and to be healthy in order to become fully-fledged members of society.”

Leading experts in neonatology from Austria, Poland, the USA, and Turkey will be among the key speakers of the conference. For the first time the Ukrainian neonatology hosts a specialized conference featuring international experts of this level.

Expert speeches will cover a wide range of issues, including, among others, different types of respiratory support for neonates; parenteral nutrition; monitoring patients on artificial ventilation; treatment of the most common diseases of premature babies; surfactant therapy and noninvasive methods of surfactant administration; minimization complications that lead to neurological diseases due to long-term intensive care, etc. A separate session block of the conference will focus on early rehabilitation of premature infants and children with organic lesions of the central nervous system.

Under the “Cradles of Hope” program, in addition to equipping neonatal centers with the high quality equipment, the Victor Pinchuk Foundation also pays great attention to regular activities intended to provide theory and practice training for staff of the program’s partner clinics. Since program launch in 2006, the Foundation supported and organized 16 training courses and events attended by more than 600 healthcare professionals from all regions of Ukraine.

Partners of the Conference:

NZ Techno
Nycomed Ukraine
ICTV

The conference is supported by the State Agency for Investment and National Projects of Ukraine, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Neonatologists.