Dear CHIFA colleagues,
I was interested to see this new Commission in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health. Citation, summary, extracts and a comment from me below.
CITATION: The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Commission on the future of neonatology
Prof Daniele De Luca, PhDa,b dm.deluca@icloud.com ∙ Prof Neena Modi, FMedScid,f,g ∙ Prof Peter Davis, MDh,j ∙ Prof Satoshi Kusuda, PhDk,l ∙ Prof Saskia N de Wildt, PhDm,n ∙ Prof Martin Keszler, MDo ∙ et al.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(25)00106-3/abstract
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Neonatal mortality remains unacceptably high throughout the world. Survival of sick infants in their first month of life has improved over the past six decades. However, many comorbidities persist, with lifelong implications for health. The current ecosystem for research and development of drugs and medical devices to treat neonatal disorders is hindering further improvements to neonatal outcomes, especially infants born preterm or needing critical care. Innovation is lagging, and this is a public health problem characterised by multifactorial challenges in leadership, collaboration, regulation, funding, and commercial viability. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Commission on the future of neonatology was created to consider these challenges and design a roadmap of strategies to accelerate research and development that will innovate and improve health care for neonates. We call for regulatory agencies, governments, funders, industry partners, and clinical researchers from diverse medical fields to invest in effective pathways for drug and medical device development and to unite in responsive and dynamic collaborations with diverse patients, families, and advocacy groups whose engagement in clinical research and advocacy can help neonatologists to achieve the best science and health equity for neonates worldwide, now and in the future.
COMMENT (Neil PW): I have not had a chance to read the whole Commission in detail, but it seems to be very heavily biased to facility-based neonatal care. What seems to be missing is an appraisal of community-based newborn care and how quality of care can be improved at this level. I suppose this emphasis is understandable given the title 'future of neonatology', but arguably pre-facility care of newborns requires additional attention.
Unfortunately the full text is restricted access (although I have been granted access thanks to Elsevier).
I look forward to hear your thoughts.
Best wishes, Neil
CHIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org