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Centre for International Child Health

The Centre for International Child Health advances children's health globally.
About us

What we do

Over the past two decades, BC Children's Hospital has generated and shared knowledge to improve children's health globally.

With the support of the BC Children's Hospital Foundation, BC Children's established the Centre for International Child Health in 2004. The centre serves as a leadership and coordinating body for international initiatives and strategically positions BC Children's as a key contributor to global child health.

Our work promotes innovation in global child health, strengthening both local and international capacity through the exchange of knowledge, skills and appropriate technologies.

Field officer talking to a family of a recently ill child in Uganda

Mission & vision

Our mission is to connect and engage health professionals in British Columbia, across Canada and abroad to collaborate in improving global child health. Our vision is partnering to advance children's health globally.

Strategic priorities

  • Build capacity through collaborative and sustained partnerships
  • Expand global health education opportunities for residents and fellows, and contribute to health workforce education at partnering institutions
  • Enhance global health research through training, mentorship and reverse innovation opportunities
  • Strengthen the global health community at BC Children's and beyond

Who we are

The Centre for International Child Health is led by a team of experienced, passionate people with a diverse range of knowledge in global health. 

We also benefit from the guidance of expert clinicians, researchers, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrators at BC Children’s and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre. All share our goal of advancing the health of children from birth to adolescence.

 
  • Dr. Niranjan "Tex" Kissoon, Chair
  • Dr. Mark Ansermino, Director
  • Bella Hwang, Program Manager
  • Kathy MacDougall, Financial Resources Manager
  • Alexia Krepiakevich, Manager - Health Projects
  • Teresa Johnson, Project Coordinator

 

‎Executive committee

  • Mark Ansermino, Director, Centre for International Child Health, BC Children's  
  • Allison Eddy, Chief of Medicine & Head, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children's
  • Barbara Fitzgerald, Chief Nursing Office & Head, Interprofessional Practice and Patient Experience, BC Children's
  • Bella Hwang, Program Manager, Centre for International Child Health, BC Children's
  • Niranjan “Tex” Kissoon, Vice-President, Medical Affairs, BC Children's
  • Michael Kobor, Lead, Healthy Starts, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
  • Erik Skarsgard, Chief of Surgery, BC Children's
  • Joanne Waxman, Director, Strategic Partnerships, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation

Committee

  • Mark Ansermino, Director, Centre for International Child Health, BC Children's
  • Jean-Pierre Chanoine, Head, Division of Pediatric Endocrinology, BC Children's
  • Alexis Davis, Occupational Therapist, Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children
  • Damian Duffy, Executive Director, Office of Pediatric Surgical Evaluation & Innovation, BC Children's
  • Barbara Fitzgerald, Chief Nursing Office & Head, Interprofessional Practice and Patient Experience, BC Children's
  • David Goldfarb, Medical Microbiologist, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, BC Children's
  • Bella Hwang, Program Manager, Centre for International Child Health, BC Children's
  • Niranjan “Tex” Kissoon, Vice-President, Medical Affairs, BC Children's
  • Alexia Krepiakevich, Manager - Health Projects, Centre for International Child Health, BC Children's  
  • Srinivas Murthy, Clinical Investigator, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute
  • Gina Ogilvie, Senior Research Advisor, BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre
  • Laura Sauvé, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Specialist, BC Children's
  • Jennifer Smitten, Pediatrician, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, BC Children's

How we work

The centre partners with global organizations where we feel sustained effort can have a significant impact on the health of children and youth. 

Our projects engage a range of internal staff at BC Children’s, the Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children and BC Women’s Hospital + Health Centre, as well as external partners and collaborators. These can include universities, hospitals, non-governmental organizations, global health networks, global health funders, businesses and multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization.

We strive to connect and engage health care professionals on a global scale to collaborate in improving child health.

Our connections and commitments

We are stronger when we work together to achieve common goals. The Centre for International Child Health is a member of the Coalition of Centres in Global Child Health and has joined the Every Woman Every Child movement to help end all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents within a generation while ensuring their health and well-being.

The centre has also affirmed our commitment to global efforts to improve maternal and child health by signing the World Preeclampsia Day Proclamation, the World Sepsis Day Declaration, and the Kampala Declaration to improve care for sepsis. 


Our work



Projects & partnerships

Did you know that staff at BC Children's and BC Women's are involved in global health work in over 30 countries? People across our community are sharing their time, talents and passion to make a difference where it is needed most.

Map of global health projects

The Centre for International Child Health and its members across BC Children's and BC Women's lead research, education and implementation projects around the globe. Explore the project list below, or download a full list of current projects. To learn more about any project, contact the listed project leads.

 

Botswana

Project title: Senior Pediatric Resident Electives 

Project leads: Dr. Jenny Druker, Dr. Laura Sauve, Dr. Jennifer Smitten

Partner organizations: Princess Mariana Hospital

Timeline: 2009 - ongoing

Description: Developing a pediatric resident electives and simulation program in Botswana

[Project website]


Project title: Optimizing Management of Pediatric Diarrhoeal Disease in Botswana: A Factorial, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of Rapid Enteric Diagnostics and Probiotic Therapy

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb, Dr. Jeffrey Pernica, Margaret Mokomane 

Partner organizations: Botswana Ministry of Health, Botswana UPenn Partnership, bioMerieux

Timeline: 2016-2018

Description: Conducting a multisite randomized, placebo-control trial of rapid molecular diagnostics and probiotic therapy in order to evaluate their relative impact on the outcomes of severe gastroenteritis in children in Botswana

[Project website]


Ghana

Project title: Probiotics at Birth to Prevent Neonatal Sepsis and Death

Project leads: Dr. Tobi Kollmann, Dr. Owusu-Agyei 

Partner organizations: Kintampo Health Research Center

Timeline: 2016 - ongoing

Description: Conducting pilot projects to determine the feasibility of a vaccine and probiotic research project


Guinea-Bissau

Project title: Non-specific Effects of Vaccines 

Project leads: Dr. Tobi Kollmann, Dr. Peter Aaby 

Partner organizations: Bandim Health Project

Timeline: 2015 - ongoing

Description: Conducting a randomized controlled trial of BCG administered at birth to determine reduction in death in the first week of life

[Project website]


The Gambia

Project title: Systems Biology to Identify Biomarkers of Neonatal Vaccine Immunogenicity

Project leads: Dr. Tobi Kollmann, Dr. Hancock, Dr. Tebbutt, Dr. Foster, Dr. Brinkman, Dr. Kampmann

Partner organizations: Medical Research Council of The Gambia

Timeline: 2017 - ongoing

Description: Using systems biology to decipher how newborns respond to vaccination


Malawi

Project title: Implementation of a Neonatal Care Package for Facility Based Care in Malawi

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb

Timeline: 2016 - 2020

Description: Scaling up a package of neonatal care interventions (including bubble CPAP, breastfeeding support, and Kangaroo Mother Care)

[Project website] 


Project title: Evaluation of a Novel Method of Determining Physiologic Stability in Severely Malnourished Children

Project leads: Dr. Mark Manary, Dr. Jonah Attebery, Dr. Indi Trehan

Partner organizations: Washington University in St Louis

Timeline: 2017 - ongoing

Description: Researching if heart-rate variability (HRV) can identify high-risk malnourished children

[Project website] 


Project title: Improving the early diagnosis of neonatal sepsis in Malawi

Project leads: Dr. Pascal Lavoie, Dr. Niranjan Kissoon, Dr. Mark Ansermino, Dr. Matthew Wiens 

Partner organizations: Kamuzu Central Hospital and Community Health Sciences Unit

Timeline: 2017-ongoing

Description: Developing a transcriptome-based diagnostic blood test to help build improved predictor models of mortality and need for antibiotics in newborns presenting with clinical signs of neonatal sepsis


Sierra Leone

Project title: Long-term Outcomes Post-Ebola Infection 

Project leads: Dr. Srinivas Murthy

Partner organizations: University of Toronto, Sierra Leone Ministry of Health

Timeline: 2015 - ongoing

Description: Implementing an observational cohort study of long-term sequelae in Ebola survivors


South Africa

Project title: Senior Pediatric Resident Electives 

Project leads: Dr. Jenny Druker, Dr. Laura Sauve, Dr. Jennifer Smitten

Partner organizations: Red Cross Children's Hospital, the University of Cape Town, and Paarl Hospital

Timeline: 2004 - ongoing

Description: Developing a pediatric resident electives and simulation program in South Africa

[Project website]


Project title: Capacity Building for Nurses

Project leads: Dr. Caron Strahlendorf

Partner organizations: C17 International Development Committee

Timeline: 2014 - ongoing

Description: Delivering a pediatric oncology nursing curriculum for nurses in developing countries


Project title: Exploring Young Women’s Knowledge about the Human Papillomavirus, Cervical Cancer and Screening, and Attitudes towards the HPV Vaccine in Durban South Africa

Project leads: Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Dr. Angela Kaida, Dr. Jennifer Smit

Partner organizations: Simon Fraser University, University of Witwatersrand

Timeline: 2016 - 2020

Description: Describing the knowledge, awareness and beliefs about HPV infection, cervical cancer and HPV vaccines to explore predictors of vaccine acceptability and willingness to screen among female adolescents/young adults living in Durban, South Africa, the global ‘epicentre’ of the HIV epidemic


Tunisia, Morocco & Algeria

Project title: Pediatrician Teaching

Project leads: Dr. Jean Pierre Chanoine

Partner organizations: Maghreb School

Timeline: 2006 - ongoing

Description: Providing annual training for 25-30 pediatricians at the Maghreb School, with a focus on pediatric diabetes and endocrinology

[Project website] 


Uganda

Project title: Uganda Hearing Health Program

Project leads: Dr. Brian Westerberg

Partner organizations: Local Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgeons 

Timeline: 2000 - ongoing

Description: Training providers on addressing chronic ear infections complicated by perforated ear drums and ear drainage issues


Project title: Uganda Sustainable Clubfoot

Project leads: Dr. Shafique Pirani

Partner organizations: Makerere University, the University of British Columbia, and the Ugandan Ministry of Health

Timeline: 2002 - ongoing

Description: Enhancing treatment and care of congenital clubfoot deformity in Uganda

[Project website]


Project title: Advances in Screening and Prevention in Reproductive Cancers (ASPIRE)

Project leads: Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Dr. Deborah Money, Dr. Jan Christilaw

Partner organizations: British Columbia Centre for Disease Control and the University of British Columbia

Timeline: 2006 - ongoing

Description: Implementing a scalable and affordable integrated cervical cancer screening program that uses a novel technology developed specifically for cervical cancer screening in resource limited countries

[Project website] 


Project title: Global Partners in Anesthesia and Surgery

Project leads: Nathan O'Hara

Partner organizations: Makerere University, Injury Control Centre Uganda, Arrive Alive Uganda, Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Timeline: 2006 - ongoing

Description: Developing, implementing, and evaluating strategies that improve surgical, pain and perioperative services and health equity in low-resource settings

[Project website]


Project title: Uganda Sustainable Trauma Orthopedic Program 

Project leads: Nathan O'Hara

Partner organizations: Uganda Ministry of Health, Makerere University, and Mulago Hospital

Timeline: 2007 - ongoing

Description: Improving the education of surgical trainees, nurses and paramedical personnel in the care of patients with traumatic injury, from entry to full rehabilitation

[Project website]


Project title: Uganda Training Alliance and Pediatric Surgery Camps

Project leads: Dr. Eleanor Reimer, Dr. Geoff Blair

Partner organizations:

Makerere University and Mulago Hospital

Timeline: 2007 - ongoing

Description: Providing fellowships for Ugandan surgeons and anaesthetists to train in Canada at the BC Children’s Hospital, as well as holding camps every two years in Uganda to provide specialized surgical care for Ugandan children most in need

[Project website]


Project title: Micro-Research Coaching Project

Project leads: Dr. Ashley Roberts, Dr. Kris Kang

Partner organizations: Dalhousie University

Timeline: 2010 - ongoing

Description: Providing local researchers the opportunity to create their own projects/questions via mentorship opportunities

[Project website]


Project title: Post-Discharge Survival 

Project leads: Dr. Charles Larson, Dr. Matthew Wiens, Dr. Mark Ansermino, Dr. Tex Kissoon

Partner organizations: Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Timeline: 2011 – 2015

Description: Researching post-discharge survival of under-5 children admitted for treatment of serious infection (syndromic sepsis) to test post-discharge interventions, with the aim of preventing these deaths

[Project website]


Project title: UBC Global Health Initiative - Soroti Children’s Project

Project leads: Dr. Videsh Kapoor, Mr. Damian Duffy, Dr. JP Chanoine

Partner organizations: Soroti Regional Referral Hospital

Timeline: 2013 - ongoing

Description: Providing students with collaborative service-learning opportunities that address relevant community health priorities

[Project website]


Project title: Tissue Oxygen Saturation in Malnutrition and Pneumonia

Project leads: Dr. Mark Ansermino, Dr. Matthew Wiens

Partner organizations: Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Timeline: 2016 - 2017

Description: Investigating the use of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess metabolic reserve in children with severe malnutrition and pneumonia

[Project website]


Project title: Defining Opportunities for Creating an Integrated Package of Reproductive Health Services for Adolescents and their Infants in Post-Conflict Northern Uganda

Project leads: Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Dr. Patricia Spittal, Dr. Ashley Roberts

Partner organizations: University of British Columbia, Northern Uganda Program on Health Sciences

Timeline: 2016 - 2018

Description: Leveraging the infrastructure of an existing cohort in post-conflict Northern Uganda to explore key factors related to adolescent maternal and reproductive health services


Project title: Smart Discharges Project 

Project leads: Dr. Tex Kissoon, Dr. Mark Ansermino, Dr. Matthew Wiens

Partner organizations: Mbarara University of Science and Technology

Timeline: 2016 - 2020

Description: Validating post-discharge mortality prediction models and regionally scaling a Smart Discharges program to determine its effectiveness on post-discharge health seeking behavior and mortality

[Project website]


Project title: Population-Based Cervical Cancer Screening in Uganda

Project leads: Dr. Gina Ogilvie, Dr. Carolyn Nakisige

Partner organizations: Uganda Cancer Institute

Timeline: 2017 - 2022

Description: Exploring different implementation approaches for population-level implementation and scale up of HPV-testing based cervical cancer screening in Uganda through a clinical trial

 

Bangladesh

Project title: Senior Pediatric Resident Electives 

Project leads: Dr. Jenny Druker, Dr. Laura Sauve, Dr. Jennifer Smitten

Partner organizations: LAMB Hospital

Timeline: 2009 - ongoing

Description: Developing a pediatric resident electives and simulation program in Bangladesh

[Project website]


Project title: Interrupting Pathways to Maternal, Newborn and Early Childhood Sepsis Initiative (IPSI)

Project leads: Dr. Charles Larson, Dr. Tex Kissoon, Dr. Mark Ansermino

Partner organizations: International Centre for Diarrhea Disease Research 

Timeline: 2012 - 2015

Description: Conducted a multidisciplinary project linking community engagement and a call-in emergency transport system with higher quality care of seriously ill children in sub-district hospitals

[Project website]


Project title: Pediatric Oncology & Nursing Training in Curative and Palliative Care

Project leads: Dr. Caron Strahlendorf, Dr. Paul Rogers

Partner organizations: World Child Cancer

Timeline: 2012 - ongoing

Description: Building the capacity of oncology nurses in Bangladesh

[Project website]


Cambodia

Project title: Operation Rainbow Canada 

Project leads: Doreen Lore, Cheryl Baldwin, Dr. Naz Bhanji

Partner organizations: Preah Ketmelea Hospital 

Timeline: 2000 – ongoing

Description: Establishing a plastic surgery residency program, providing on-the-job training to Cambodian surgeons, and assisting with surgeries for patients with cleft palates

[Project website]

 

China

Project title: Neuroscience Partnership in Advancing Disability and Epilepsy Care for Children in China

Project leads: Dr. Charles Larson

Partner organizations: Guangzhou Women and Children’s Medical Centre

Timeline: 2008 – 2015

Description: Strengthened the management of paediatric epilepsy and neuro-motor disorders through “training the trainers”


Project title: Born in Guangzhou Birth Cohort Study

Project leads: Dr. Charles Larson

Partner organizations: Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center

Timeline: 2012 - 2015

Description: Investigated short and long term health consequences of the genetic, environmental and social factors during pregnancy and the first few years of life for mothers and babies in Guangzhou

[Project website]


Project title: Capacity-building in gastroenterology

Project leads: Dr. Kevan Jacobson

Timeline: 2014 - ongoing

Description: Providing capacity building in gastroenterology in China


Project title: Pediatric sepsis: intervention and outcome assessment in resource limited regions

Project leads: Dr. Niranjan Kissoon

Partner organizations: Huai’an Women and Children’s Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Fudan University

Timeline: 2016 – 2018

Description: Preventing pediatric sepsis for infants and children, neonatal sepsis, and disorders of prematurity in China


India

Project title: Ladakh Disability & Rehabilitation Training (LDRT) Project

Project leads: Alexis Davis (project led by Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children)

Partner organizations: Canadian Himalayan Association for Innovation (CHAI)

Timeline: 2007 - ongoing

Description: Building capacity of rehabilitation staff in an established pediatric unit at the local government hospital

[Project website] 


Project title: Pneumonia Research

Project leads: Dr. Ashley Roberts

Partner organizations: Various Universities

Timeline: 2012 - ongoing

Description: Establishing relationships with centres for infectious disease fellowship rotations and collaborating on research endeavors


Laos

Project title: Micronutrient Interventions

Project leads: Dr. Charles Larson

Partner organizations: Micronutrient Initiative UNICEF

Timeline: 2014 - ongoing

Description: Conducting a randomized field trial of alternative micronutrient interventions, providing evidence and guiding decision making that will influence the content of micronutrient supplementation programs

[Project website]

 

Canada

Project title: Establishment of a Project for Diarrhoeal Illness Surveillance at Sentinel Sites in Nunavut

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb

Partner organizations: Government of Nunavut and McMaster University

Timeline: 2014 - 2017

Description: Explored causes of diarrhea and if a rotavirus vaccine or other interventions would lessen the burden of diarrhea in Nunavut


Project title: Building an Arctic Enteric Infections Research Agenda

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb

Partner organizations: McMaster University and the Nunavut Research Institute

Timeline: 2015 - 2016

Description: Organized a two-day "Arctic Enteric Infections Research Agenda" meeting held at the Nunavut Research Institute that included partners representing public health policy makers, clinicians, researchers and community members


Project title: Diarrheal Illness and Enteric Infections Among Young Children in Nunavik and Nunavut

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb

Partner organizations: ArcticNet

Timeline: 2015 - 2018

Description: Researching the impact of harmful germs in stool from preschool-age children in two large Arctic communities

[Project website] 


Project title: Post-discharge readmission and mortality among children being repatriated from northern communities: Derivation of prediction models

Project leads: Dr. David Goldfarb, Dr. Niranjan Kissoon

Partner organizations: University Hospital of Northern BC, Healthy Starts programs, Northern Health Authority

Timeline: 2016 - 2018

Description: Creating a post-discharge tool kit to prepare families and clinicians for safer re-integration of at risk children to home communities in northern Canada

 

 

Argentina

Project title: International Network of Women Against Tobacco Control

Project leads: Dr. Lorraine Greaves

Partner organizations: BC Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health

Timeline: 2006 - ongoing

Description: Strategic planning focusing on issues related to the tobacco use of women, domestically and internationally

[Project website]


Guatemala

Project title: Guatemala Health Missions 

Project leads: Dr. Robert Purdy, Cheryl Davies, Caitlin Johnson

Partner organizations: Health 4 Humanity 

Timeline: 2002 - ongoing

Description: Providing pediatric anesthesia care for the repair of cleft lips and palates in indigenous Mayan patients 

[Project website]


Project title: HPV Infections and Cervical Cancer in Guatemala

Project leads: Dr. Rafael Meza, Dr. Carlos Mendoza Montano, Dr. Gina Ogilvie

Partner organizations: University of Michigan, Institute of Nutrition of Central America and Panama

Timeline: 2016 - 2019

Description: Assessing factors that determine uptake of cervical cancer screening in indigenous and rural populations in Guatemala, and assessing the feasibility and potential acceptability of HPV screening as an alternative to Pap smears, through community based survey-administration in Santiago Atitlan and Livingston


Nicaragua

Project title: Capacity Building

Project leads: Dr. Nancy Lanphear

Partner organizations: Tesoros Centre de Dios; Cincinnati Children’s Hospital

Timeline: 2005 - 2015

Description: Providing capacity building training in Nicaragua

 

 

Project title: Medicos en Accion

Project leads: Dr. Gareth Eeson

Partner countries: Guatemala and The Gambia

Partner organizations: Obras Sociales del Hermano Pedro Hospital and Serrekunda Hospital

Timeline: 2001 - ongoing

Description: Offering surgical and medical care in Guatemala and the Gambia

[Project website] 


Project title: Branch for International Surgery

Project leads: Mairi Murchison

Timeline: 2009 - ongoing

Description: Advancing surgical care through an innovative education program designed for graduate students, postgraduate trainees, surgical faculty, or surgery-related health care workers across the globe 

[Project website]


Project title: Global Health Program for the UBC Pediatric Residency Program 

Project leads: Dr. Jenny Druker, Dr. Laura Sauve, Dr. Jennifer Smitten

Partner countries: South Africa, Botswana, Bangladesh (see individual countries for additional details)

Timeline: 2009 - ongoing

Description: Developing a three-tier pediatric resident electives and training program for pediatric residents interested in global health

[Project website] 


Project title: Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) - Global Health Program 

Project leads: Various Medical Students

Timeline: 2012 - ongoing

Description: Providing representation, services and communication to its membership in response to a growing need for coordinated programming, advocacy and collaboration focused specifically on global health issues

[Project website]


Project title: Global Health Pediatric Infectious Diseases Program

Project leads: Dr. Ashley Roberts, Dr. Tobi Kollmann

Partner countries: Kenya, Thailand, Singapore

Timeline: 2012 - ongoing

Description: Establishing relationships with centres for infectious disease fellowship rotations, and collaborating on research endeavors

[Project website]


Project title: Neonatal Hemodynamics and Application of Neonatal Echocardiography

Project leads: Dr. Joseph Ting

Partner countries: Ireland, Australia, and China

Timeline: 2013 - ongoing

Description: Collaborating with international research sites on issues related to neonatal hemodynamics


Project title: Community-Level Interventions for Pre-eclampsia

Project leads: Dr. Peter von Dadelszen and Dr. Zulfiqar A Bhutta

Partner countries: Nigeria, Mozambique, Pakistan, and India

Partner organizations: St. George’s University of London, University of British Columbia, Olabisi Olabanjo University Teaching Hospital in Nigeria, Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM) in Mozambique, Aga Khan University in Pakistan, and Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and S. Nijalingappa Medical College in India

Timeline: 2014 - 2018

Description: Addressing the excess maternal and perinatal mortality that derive from the failure to identify and rapidly manage pre-eclampsia and eclampsia at the community level in LMICs

[Project website] 


Project title: Global Impact Fellowship Program

Project leads: Damian Duffy

Partner countries: Honduras, Ghana, India

Partner organizations: Unite for Sight

Timeline: 2014 – ongoing

Description: Supporting eye clinics worldwide by investing human and financial resources in social ventures to eliminate preventable blindness and patient barriers to eye care


Project title: Promoting Access to Essential Medicines in Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes 

Project leads: Dr. Jean-Pierre Chanoine

Partner organizations: Global Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes (GPED)

Timeline: 2014 - ongoing

Description: Surveying the existing situation in LMICs around access to medicines, with a focus on congenital adrenal hyperplasia, as well as developing programs that facilitate this process in specific countries

[Project website]


Project title: CERTAINp (Checklist for Early Recognition and Treatment of Acute Illness and Injury – Pediatrics)

Project leads: Dr. Srinivas Murthy

Partner countries: India, Croatia, China, Democratic Republic of Congo

Partner organizations: Mayo Clinic

Timeline: 2015 – ongoing

Description: Examining, through a stepped-wedge cluster randomized trial, the implementation of decision-support tools in hospitals in low-resource settings that can assist clinicians in achieving best practices


Project title: SPRINT-SARI (Short Period Incidence Study of Severe Acute Respiratory Infections)

Project leads: Dr. Srinivas Murthy

Timeline: 2015 – ongoing

Description: Implementing a global period prevalence study of severe acute respiratory infections in hospitals around the world


Project title: The Pocket Doc for Pneumonia

Project leads: Dr. Mark Ansermino, Dr. Niranjan Kissoon, Dr. Guy Dumont, Dr. Matthew Wiens, and Dr. Mattias Görges

Partner countries: Uganda

Partner organizations: Google.org

Timeline: 2017 – 2019

Description: Developing a low-cost smartphone tool that uses a light-weight sensor and a data-driven app to assess a child’s vital signs and overall condition, deliver an accurate diagnosis and recommend inexpensive, life-saving treatments such as antibiotics, oxygen and fluids

[Project website]

 

Project spotlight

Still curious? We are shining a spotlight on some of the exciting global health work listed above.

Smart Discharges for children in Uganda

Smart Discharges are a way to help children stay healthy after they leave the hospital to return home following a serious infection (sepsis). Children hospitalized for serious infections in Africa have a very high post-discharge mortality rate. This means that many children who seem healthy after an infection return to their homes and then get sick again and die. In places like Uganda, as many children die during the weeks after they are discharged from a hospital as die during hospitalization — about 5% in each case. One solution is identifying vulnerable children before they go home from the hospital so that we can make sure they have the tools to survive after they go home. This is the Smart Discharge model. 

Learn more about Smart Discharges and how predicting risk can help to more efficiently and effectively use limited resources where they are needed most. The Smart Discharges project is being supported by Mining4Life and the Thrasher Research Fund.

Pocket Doc for Pneumonia

Childhood pneumonia is the leading cause of death for children under five years of age worldwide. In 2015, at least one million children under the age of five died of pneumonia. The Pocket Doc for Pneumonia is a low-cost smartphone tool that uses a light-weight sensor and a data-driven app to assess a child’s vital signs and overall condition. The tool then delivers an accurate diagnosis and recommends inexpensive, life-saving treatments such as antibiotics, oxygen and fluids. This powerful diagnostic tool will be designed for, and in collaboration with, health workers with limited education working in remote and developing parts of the world. 

Learn more about the Pocket Doc for Pneumonia and how we are changing the way we diagnose and treat the leading cause of death of children worldwide.

Pediatric disability unit in India

The Ladakh Disability & Rehabilitation Training project is an interdisciplinary Canada-India partnership focusing on improving rehabilitation services in Ladakh and surrounding areas. Since 2007, participants from BC Children's Hospital and Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children have travelled annually to Ladakh to build capacity of local healthcare professionals in pediatric disability assessment and treatment. In 2010, the Pediatric Unit for Special Children was established collaboratively at the Sonam-Norboo Memorial Hospital in Leh Ladakh. Most recently, work has begun to strengthen the pediatric unit’s training partnerships with other India-based disability centres, including one in the district of Kullu supported by the Handimachal Project. This is an important step towards providing better and more sustainable care for children with disabilities.

Learn more about the Ladakh Disability & Rehabilitation Training project and how it is supporting children with disabilities in India.

Advances in screening and prevention in reproductive cancers

The Advances in Screening and Prevention in Reproductive Cancers (ASPIRE) project was established in 2006 through collaboration between the University of British Columbia and Makerere University in Uganda. This women's health initiative will save tens of thousands of lives by implementing a scalable and affordable integrated cervical cancer screening program that uses a novel technology developed specifically for resource-limited countries. The project examines ways that women can self-collect the samples needed for diagnosis of the human papillomavirus (HPV). With new DNA technology, testing, diagnosis and treatment can be done by existing health care professionals such as nurses, midwives and lab technicians at a lower cost than traditional screening.

Learn more about the ASPIRE project and how it is helping some of the over four million women worldwide who are expected to die from cervical cancer in the next twenty years.

 

Interrupting pathways to sepsis in Bangladesh

Funded by the Canadian Government's Muskoka Initiative, this project was designed with the objective of improving maternal and child survival by interrupting pathways to sepsis. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition where the body's response to an infection damages its own tissues and organs. The project was implemented in two rural sub-districts of Bangladesh from 2011-2015, covering a total population of about 500,000. The project had five components, each focusing on a specific objective: 


  1. Community engagement to ensure earlier and increased use of health facilities for deliveries and for suspected moderate to severe infectious illness episodes
  2. High quality, facility-based deliveries and the early detection and management of maternal sepsis 
  3. Fully functional m-Health diagnostic and communication application in support of sepsis identification and decision support
  4. A sustainable, replicable call-in centre, referral and transport system
  5. Earlier detection and high quality, rapid management of suspected newborn and early childhood sepsis in district or sub-district hospital settings

Learn more about the Interrupting Pathways to Sepsis Initiative and its results.

Support for trainees

We support Canadian health professional trainees who choose to think globally about their health care work. Every year, the Centre for International Child Health provides funding to several trainees who pursue global health electives focused on children (neonates to adolescents) as part of their approved training program. Trainees can be students in any health care discipline: doctors, nurses, midwives, occupational therapists, and more. Past grant recipients have travelled to Nepal, Uganda, Botswana, Ghana and South Africa. 

In 2018-2019, we have awarded grants to six more talented trainees who will travel to Bangkok, South Africa and Uganda.

  • Michelle Tran – UBC Midwifery Program – Uganda
  • Robynn Geier – UBC Pediatrics – South Africa
  • Arlene Nakawagi – UBC Pediatric Surgery – Uganda
  • Jennifer Sibley – UBC Pediatrics – South Africa
  • Kenneth Lett – UBC Pediatrics – South Africa
  • Hana Mijovic – UBC Pediatrics – Bangkok

Learn more about how global health electives are strengthening education and partnerships around the world by exploring stories from global health trainees.

Publications

The Centre for International Health's team and members are leaders in global health innovation and research. They publish widely. Explore the list of selected publications below to find out more about the new knowledge being generated every day.

 

Fleischmann-Struzek C, Goldfarb D, Schlattmann P, Schlapbach LJ, Reinhart K, Kissoon N. The global burden of paediatric and neonatal sepsis: a systematic review. The Lancet. March 2018

 

Wiens MO, Kissoon N, Kabakyenga J. Smart Hospital Discharges to Address a Neglected Epidemic in Sepsis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. JAMA Pediatr. 2018; 172 (3): 213-214. 


Eltemamy M, Crane A, Goldfarb D. Urinary Diversion in Renal Transplantation. Urologic Clinics of North America. February 2018.


Perez AJ, Kebbe M, Holt NL, Gokiert R, Chanoine JP, Legault L, Morrison KM, Sharma AM, Ball GD. Parent Recommendations to Enhance Enrollment in Multidisciplinary Clinical Care for Pediatric Weight Management. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2018 Jan 1;192:122-9.

 

Mandelzweig K, Leligdowicz A, Murthy S, Lalitha R, Fowler RA, Adhikari NK. Non-invasive ventilation in children and adults in low-and low-middle income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Critical Care. 2018 Jan 12.

 

Ukah UV, Payne B, Karjalainen H, Kortelainen E, Seed PT, Conti-Ramsden FI, Cao V, Laivuori H, Hutcheon J, Chappell L, Ansermino JM. Temporal and External Validation of the full PIERS Model for the Prediction of Adverse Maternal Outcomes in Women with Pre-eclampsia. Pregnancy Hypertension. 2018 Jan 5.


 
Lagoo J, Lopushinsky SR, Haynes AB, Bain P, Flageole H, Skarsgard ED, Brindle ME. Effectiveness and meaningful use of paediatric surgical safety checklists and their implementation strategies: a systematic review with narrative synthesis. BMJ open. 2017 Oct 1;7(10):e016298.

Lamontagne F, Fowler RA, Adhikari NK, Murthy S, Brett-Major DM, Jacobs M, Uyeki TM, Vallenas C, Norris SL, Fischer WA, Fletcher TE. Evidence-based guidelines for supportive care of patients with Ebola virus disease. The Lancet. 2017 Oct 17.

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Asafo-Agyei SB, Ameyaw E, Chanoine JP, Zacharin M, Nguah SB, Jarrett OO. Anogenital Distance in Term Newborns in Kumasi, Ghana. Hormone Research in Paediatrics.

Shrestha GS, Kwizera A, Lundeg G, Baelani JI, Azevedo LC, Pattnaik R, Haniffa R, Gavrilovic S, Mai NT, Kissoon N, Lodha R. International Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines 2016: the perspective from low-income and middle-income countries. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2017 Sep 30;17(9):893-5.

Kranenburg LJ, Reerds ST, Cools M, Alderson J, Muscarella M, Magrite E, Kuiper M, Abdelgaffar S, Balsamo A, Brauner R, Chanoine JP. Global Application of the Assessment of Communication Skills of Paediatric Endocrinology Fellows in the Management of Differences in Sex Development Using the ESPE E-Learning. Org Portal. Hormone Research in Paediatrics.

Dugani S, Bhutta ZA, Kissoon N. Empowering people for sustainable development: the Ottawa Charter and beyond. Journal of Global Health. 2017 Jun;7(1).

Dugani S, Kissoon N. Global advocacy needed for sepsis in children. Journal of Infection. 2017 Jun 30;74:S61-5.

Reinhart K, Daniels R, Kissoon N, Machado FR, Schachter RD, Finfer S. Recognizing Sepsis as a Global Health Priority—A WHO Resolution. New England Journal of Medicine. 2017 Jun 28.


Asafo-Agyei SB, Ameyaw E, Chanoine JP, Zacharin M, Nguah SB. Clitoral size in term newborns in Kumasi, Ghana. International journal of pediatric endocrinology. 2017 Jun 6;2017(1):6. 


Kassebaum N, Kyu HH, Zoeckler L, Olsen HE, Thomas K, Pinho C, Bhutta ZA, Dandona L, Ferrari A, Ghiwot TT, Hay SI. Child and adolescent health from 1990 to 2015: findings from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors 2015 Study. JAMA pediatrics. 2017 Jun 1;171(6):573-92. 


Kelly MS, Surette MG, Smieja M, Pernica JM, Rossi L, Luinstra K, Steenhoff AP, Feemster KA, Goldfarb DM, Arscott-Mills T, Boiditswe S. The Nasopharyngeal Microbiota of Children with Respiratory Infections in Botswana. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2017 May 11. 


Murthy S. SPRINT-SARI: Short-Period Incidence Study For Severe Acute Respiratory Infections: Year 1 Rapid Data From 2015-16. C104. ACUTE RESPIRATORY INFECTION: CLINICAL STUDIES. 2017 May:A6854-. 


Wolbrink TA, Kissoon N, Mirza N, Burns JP. Building a Global, Online Community of Practice: The OPENPediatrics World Shared Practices Video Series. Academic Medicine. 2017 May 1;92(5):676-9. 


Machado FR, Nsutebu E, AbDulaziz S, Daniels R, Finfer S, Kissoon N, Lander H, Malik I, Papathanassoglou E, Reinhart K, Rooney K. Sepsis 3 from the perspective of clinicians and quality improvement initiatives. Journal of Critical Care. 2017 Apr 26. 


Marchant A, Sadarangani M, Garand M, Dauby N, Verhasselt V, Pereira L, Bjornson G, Jones CE, Halperin SA, Edwards KM, Heath P. Maternal immunisation: collaborating with mother nature. The Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2017 Apr 19. 


Fink EL, Kissoon N. Pediatric multiple organ dysfunction in resource limited settings. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 2017 Mar 1;18(3_suppl):S83-5.


Mezei AK, Armstrong HL, Pedersen HN, Campos NG, Mitchell SM, Sekikubo M, Byamugisha JK, Kim JJ, Bryan S, Ogilvie GS. Cost‐effectiveness of cervical cancer screening methods in low‐and middle‐income countries: A systematic review. International Journal of Cancer. 2017 Mar 1. 


Schultz MJ, Dunser MW, Dondorp AM, Adhikari NK, Iyer S, Kwizera A, Lubell Y, Papali A, Pisani L, Riviello BD, Angus DC. Current challenges in the management of sepsis in ICUs in resource-poor settings and suggestions for the future. Intensive Care Medicine. 2017 Mar 27:1-3. 


Gottschlich A, Murchland A, Bevilacqua K, Pineda A, Rivera-Andrade A, Alvarez C, Ogilvie G, Mendoza-Montano C, Meza R. Abstract C64: Use of HPV self-sampling to increase screening for cervical cancer in indigenous and rural communities in Guatemala. Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Biomarkers. 2017 Feb 1;26(2 Supplement):C64-. 


Slogrove AL, Esser MM, Cotton MF, Speert DP, Kollmann TR, Singer J, Bettinger JA. A Prospective Cohort Study of Common Childhood Infections in South African HIV-exposed Uninfected and HIV-unexposed Infants. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2017 Feb 1;36(2):e38-44.


Asafo-Agyei SB, Ameyaw E, Chanoine JP, Nguah SB. Normative penile anthropometry in term newborns in Kumasi, Ghana: a cross-sectional prospective study. International journal of pediatric endocrinology. 2017 Jan 26;2017(1):2.


Kissoon N. Reducing the global burden of sepsis. Canadian Medical Association. Journal. 2017 Jan 9;189(1):E2.


Mitchell SM, Pedersen HN, Stime EE, Sekikubo M, Moses E, Mwesigwa D, Biryabarema C, Christilaw J, Byamugisha JK, Money DM, Ogilvie GS. Self-collection based HPV testing for cervical cancer screening among women living with HIV in Uganda: a descriptive analysis of knowledge, intentions to screen and factors associated with HPV positivity. BMC women's health. 2017 Jan 13;17(1):4.


Payne B, Sharma S, Dumont G, Magee L, Vidler M, von Dadelszen P, Ansermino UO. The PIERS on the Move mobile health application. Annals of Global Health. 2017 Jan 1;83(1):129.


Rahman AE, Iqbal A, Hoque DE, Moinuddin M, Zaman SB, Rahman QS, Begum T, Chowdhury AI, Haider R, El Arifeen S, Kissoon N. Managing Neonatal and Early Childhood Syndromic Sepsis in Sub-District Hospitals in Resource Poor Settings: Improvement in Quality of Care through Introduction of a Package of Interventions in Rural Bangladesh. PloS one. 2017 Jan 23;12(1):e0170267.


Nwankwor OC, Wiens MO, Kissoon N. Post-Discharge Morbidity and Mortality in Children with Sepsis. Annual Update in Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine 2017. 2017:431-44.





Get involved

Upcoming events

Global Health Conference

The School of Population and Public Health, UBC and the Centre for International Child Health (CICH) are co-hosting an inaugural global health conference on January 24, 2019 to examine how Canadian institutions can be engaged and at the forefront of addressing challenges in global health equity. 

The keynote address will be delivered by the esteemed,

Dr Keith Martin, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health. 

Students are invited to submit posters for a competition. Please click here for more details on poster competition

Registration for the event is required.  Please click here to purchase tickets for the event

Save the Date: CICH Retreat 2019

September 27-28 | Squamish, Canada

CICH is excited to announce the 2nd CICH Retreat, to take place in September, 2019. In 2016, CICH hosted the first ever retreat with the purpose of bringing together UBC and BCCH staff involved in global health activities, and to obtain stakeholder input on a vision for the Centre. The result of the retreat was the development of a series of high-level strategic global health priorities. During the 2019 retreat, CICH will revisit the strategic plan, celebrating successes and achievements since 2016, and plan for the years to come. Check back in our next quarterly update for more details.

Interested in attending the CICH Retreat? Let us know about your impact in the global health community and what you'd like to contribute to the retreat. 

Women Deliver 2019

3-6 June 2019 | Vancouver, Canada

The Women Deliver 2019 Conference is coming to Canada! More than 6,000 world leaders, parliamentarians, royals, private sector executives, civil society leaders, young people, advocates, academics, activists and journalists from more than 160 countries will gather in Vancouver from 3-6 June, 2019.

Find out how you and/or your organization can join CICH and PRE-EMPT in the Women Deliver 2019 Mobilization Canada to advance the conversation and spread awareness about the health, rights and wellbeing of women and girls across Canada.

Visit the Women Deliver icsevents website to register. Discounted rates are available for early registration and/or groups of 10 or more. 

Funding opportunities

Have a great idea for a global health project? Take a look at these funding opportunities for research, capacity building and implementation projects. This includes funding opportunities for fellows involved in global child health.

 

Application Deadline: Feb 28 2019


CICH and the Medical Staff Association of BC Children's and Women's Hosptial are working together to support trainees in health professions who are engaged in global health with clinical activities related to the health care of neonates, children, adolescents, or women. Funding is in the amount of $1,000 for trainees who elect to go on global health electives between February 2019 and 2020 as part of their academic training. 


Apply now through this online application. 


 

Application Deadline: On-going


AWDF's grantmaking ensures resources reach the hundreds of African women's organisations that are working in diverse ways to improve the lives of women and African society at large. 


AWDF has three thematic areas of funding, which are: Body and Health Rights, Women's Economic Security and Justice, and Leadership, Participation and Peace. 


Learn more on their website here. 

 

Application Deadline: January 22 2019


Google.org has issued an open call for organisations around the world to submit their ideas on how they could use AI to help address societal challenges. 


For more information, look here. 


 


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