Abstract HPV vaccination coverage across Africa has improved substantially in recent years but remains below elimination thresholds, with persistent gaps in reaching hard-to-reach populations and growing uncertainty around future financing. This report summarizes proceedings from the fifth regional symposium of the Coalition to Strengthen the HPV Immunization Community (CHIC), held in Nairobi, Kenya, in October 2025 in collaboration with Kenya's Ministry of Health. The three-day symposium convened over 100 participants from 22 African countries, including national immunisation program managers, ministry officials, researchers, civil society representatives, and global partners (WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, PATH, the Gates Foundation). The agenda, developed through stakeholder interviews and prior scientific and advisory input, centered on six subthemes related to program sustainability. Plenary sessions addressed epidemiological trends, national policy updates including Kenya's transition to a single-dose schedule, and implications of Gavi's upcoming consolidated funding model (Gavi 6.0). Country snapshot presentations and service-delivery case studies facilitated cross-country peer learning. On day three, though an electronic poll of helped to prioritize 12 candidate implementation themes, which structured subsequent round table working groups. Countries then developed individual action plans identifying priority challenges, responsible stakeholders, and implementation timelines. Sustainable service delivery, financing, and data systems emerged as the highest-priority implementation themes. Country action plans most frequently targeted data systems strengthening, communication and community engagement, sustainable service delivery, and financing mechanisms, with additional attention to service integration, hard-to-reach populations, and target population expansion. Cross-cutting synthesis identified recurring concerns regarding HPV vaccination for people living with HIV, fragmented data systems, the role of program integration, financing sustainability under evolving donor models, and underrecognized risks from misinformation, including emerging AI-generated content. The symposium reinforced CHIC's role as a platform for peer-to-peer learning across countries at varying stages of HPV vaccine introduction, surfacing shared structural barriers to sustainability alongside country-specific action plans. Findings underscore the need for sustained political commitment, financing transition planning, digital system strengthening, and multisectoral integration to support the WHO goal of cervical cancer elimination by 2030.
Abstract The 2025 CTIP Pediatric Device Innovation Symposium in Chicago, IL, convened a multi‑stakeholder community of clinicians, entrepreneurs, regulators, investors, and families to examine how pediatric medical devices traverse the “last mile” from regulatory clearance to real‑world adoption. The program featured a keynote fireside chat with Kolaleh Eskandanian, PhD, followed by four focused panels: (1) procurement, reimbursement, and clinical adoption barriers within children’s hospitals; (2) pathways for licensing, M&A, and corporate accelerator partnerships; (3) lived regulatory experiences of CTIP portfolio companies across FDA programs; and (4) investing in pediatrics beyond traditional venture capital. A portfolio showcase highlighted five CTIP companies (WearableDose, Luminoah, Makani Science, Madison Scientific, Renata Medical), with an Audience Choice Award recognizing standout innovation. Cross‑cutting themes included the need for earlier engagement with supply‑chain and finance stakeholders at hospital systems; clear value propositions that link device benefits to total cost of care; creative coding and payer‑evidence strategies; right‑sized quality systems and evidence generation for small pediatric markets; and diversified, mission‑aligned capital stacks (family offices, foundations, strategic partners, and non‑dilutive funding). This manuscript synthesizes session discussions, draws actionable lessons for innovators and health‑system decision‑makers, and outlines near‑term priorities for accelerating safe, effective pediatric device availability and access.
The VIII International Symposium on Orofacial Clefts and Related Anomalies, organized by the Graduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences at the Bauru Medical School, University of São Paulo (FMBRU-USP), brought together clinicians, researchers, students, and healthcare professionals to discuss recent advances in craniofacial rehabilitation. Held with the I FMBRU-USP Graduate Program Pre-Symposium, the scientific program comprised a keynote lectures on Robin Sequence management protocols, six thematic panels, and a poster session. The panels explored topics on Robin Sequence, digital technologies and artificial intelligence, velopharyngeal insufficiency, rehabilitation outcomes, translational research, and professional training. Across these themes, the symposium reinforced the value of multidisciplinary collaboration, evidence-based practice, emerging technologies, and international partnerships in advancing patient care and scientific innovation. This proceedings paper summarizes the principal discussions and key messages presented during the meeting, providing an overview of current advances, persistent challenges, and future directions in research, education, and the multidisciplinary management of individuals with orofacial clefts and related craniofacial anomalies.
Paediatric nutrition directly influences survival, clinical outcomes, and long-term health, and is particularly of significance in India with one of the world’s largest child populations. This symposium, hosted by St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences as part of an ICMR-funded Centre for Advanced Research initiative, convened national and international experts spanning from clinical nutrition and public health. Day 1 focused on the management of intestinal failure and the life-saving role of parenteral and enteral nutrition, highlighting global best practices, surgical advances, and the need to strengthen multidisciplinary nutrition support teams in India. Day 2 shifted to maternal and child nutrition at the community level, addressing breastfeeding challenges, complementary feeding, stunting, and government program strategies. Together, the sessions underscored that nutrition for vulnerable children requires continuous care supported by technology, coordinated systems, and policy. The symposium laid the foundation for sustained annual engagement to strengthen paediatric nutrition systems in India.
Human milk banks (HMBs) are an essential clinical service, providing safe, screened donor human milk (DHM) to clinically vulnerable infants, which can enable mothers to establish their own milk supply. While HMB processes share similarities with other medical products of human origin (e.g., blood, platelets), HMBs remain marginalised services with limited resilience to external or internal pressures. As demand for DHM increases, understanding how to mitigate these vulnerabilities is essential. In November 2022, a workshop organised by the Human Milk Foundation brought together UK milk bank leaders, academics, and planners. The workshop aimed to understand existing pressures faced by UK HMBs and create a network to support strategic, evidence-based responses. Emergent themes highlighted that HMBs are stretched, facilitated largely by goodwill. Most services are reliant on limited workforces with limitations in service continuity, training, and succession planning. COVID-19 exacerbated pressures, but led to HMBs cooperating more. Proposed responses included investment in staffing, training and IT resources, greater public awareness and inter-HMB cooperation, and a national HMB Risk Register. Service continuity needs to be urgently addressed through external multiagency engagement, operational support, and research prioritization (including qualitative, technological and implementation science), defining optimal service design and financial resourcing to meet nationally agreed needs. Without intervention, the UK milk bank network may be unable to respond to future significant pressures, including specialist infant feed or infant formula shortages. With appropriate investment, a comprehensive National Service can be created to provide equitable services underpinned by robust research and innovation.
