The International Pediatric Association (IPA) represents pediatricians from over 140 countries in over 150 member societies. The theme for their 29th International Pediatric Association Congress, held in Panama City, Pamana from March 17-21 2019, was Partnerships for Children.

On March 17 2019, a pre-conference workshop entitled: Nurturing care in practice: the role of paediatricians and allied professionals in supporting early childhood
development was convened by WHO, UNICEF and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).

This one-day pre-conference workshop sought to:
1) Provide an update on state-of-the art evidence for early childhood development with a focus on the earliest years;
2) Introduce the Nurturing Care Framework as a roadmap for action with parents, families and communities at the centre of the actions that are further supported by multisectoral policies and services;
3) Outline concrete examples of national programmes that focus on the earliest years from pregnancy to age 3 as part of a continuum of care for early childhood development that extends to children age 8, and;
4) Facilitate creative thinking and discussion on how paediatricians and allied professionals can work together in their communities to support early childhood development – their professional practice and the services they manage.

The theme of nurturing care was addressed in plenary and parallel sessions throughout the Congress.