Pediatric Environmental Health Leadership Institute: Thinking Globally, Practicing Locally

Environmental health is a neglected issue in most pediatric training programs, although it is a fundamental and cross-cutting area of major importance to global child health. The International Pediatric Association and WHO have launched a virtual Pediatric Environmental Health Leadership Institute to train pediatricians and improve their leadership capacities in the recognition, diagnosis, prevention and management of pediatric diseases linked to environmental factors. In collaboration with the National Pediatric Societies of Haiti, India and Kenya, the Institute gave three days of on-site training in each of these countries to pediatricians and other health workers. The training offered a standard curriculum using specific modules taken from the WHO Training Package for Health Care Providers, a series of peer-reviewed annotated PowerPoint presentations on key topics in children's environmental health. Participants were evaluated by their scores on an examination about pediatric environmental health. Pediatricians who attended the workshops were required to present a seminar about children's environmental health at their home hospital; record, file and analyze the pediatric environmental history forms from children with illnesses from environmental contaminants; and propose a community project on an environmental health problem. The Institute established links between professionals involved in patient care and those in charge of policy making and public health in these countries. It also facilitated networking and exchange of ideas among pediatricians on prevention and treatment of childhood illnesses linked to the environment.