Our approach to global child health

RCPCH Global works with colleagues and partners internationally to share and build expertise - which will advance the quality and scope of global child health care.

Working with global partners

RCPCH represents one of the greatest concentrations of paediatric knowledge and skills in the world.

Our counterparts in low-income settings, however, have the greatest global experience and expertise of understanding and attempting to address critical child health needs in resource-scarce environments.

It is through strong partnerships – sharing experience, collaborating to test new interventions, planning and implementing together – that we can truly achieve advances in global child health.

Our programmes are designed to teach and train, but also to learn from colleagues internationally about what threatens child survival and growth, and what works best to enhance health and development from birth. We collaborate with doctors, nurses and policymakers as well as with families and communities.

Where our programmes take place

RCPCH Global’s programmes are designed to improve quality of care within hospital settings, but also to strengthen the contribution of secondary care within the wider health system – developing links between primary health clinics and district hospitals, and between district hospitals and tertiary centres.

We work across multiple hospitals in each of our core programme countries, building networks of clinicians and hospitals, which can compare challenges and share effective solutions.

You can read about approaches in two countries in our reports, available to download below: Rwanda Neonatal and Obstetric Care Programme and Myanmar Neonatal and Paediatric Emergency Care Programme.

Key health issues we focus on

Our major programmes focus on improving emergency paediatric care, ongoing care for critically ill children and enhanced care for newborn infants, including those who are born early or sick.

These programmes build on long-term partnership in each country. They adapt internationally endorsed protocols to fit with local conditions and priorities, and include:

  • Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment Plus (ETAT+)
  • Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC)
  • Essential Newborn Care
  • Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI).

Our work also addresses development and disability by enhancing institutional attention and clinical screening, and supporting the evolution of more integrated multidisciplinary care systems.