On March 20, 2026, the Global Child Health expertise group is organising an afternoon of inspiration and strategy for everyone in the Netherlands working on global child health or wanting to become active in it.
The meeting is intended for members of the Global Child Health Expertise Group, as well as (paediatric) doctors and other professionals with an interest in international child care, education or research. The programme offers space to share experiences and initiatives, to get ideas and to discuss care for children in vulnerable situations, in different contexts.
Besides substantive exchange, meeting and networking are central. The afternoon offers a low-threshold introduction to the expert group and its members. In a strategic working session, we jointly explore which themes, projects and collaborations will have priority in the coming years, and how participants can contribute to these.
Programme
| 12:00 | Reception with lunch |
| 13:00 | Welcome by the chair of the Global Child Health Expertise Group Perijne Vellekoop |
| 13:10 | Setting up paediatrics training in Sierra Leone: successes and challenges Merel Boom & Erik Wehrens |
| 13:30 | Insights into Máxima International (global paediatric oncology) Minke Huibers |
| 13:50 | Brainstorming session Global Child Health |
| 14:50 | Break |
| 15:10 | Research into the health of refugee children on Lesbos Hanaâ Benjeddi |
| 15:30 | Strategy session Global Child Health Salmaan Sana |
| 17:00 | Drinks |
Speakers
Erik Wehrens is a paediatrician by training and Doctor of International Health (AIG). He worked for two years at Masanga Teaching Hospital in Sierra Leone, where he helped build training programmes for healthcare professionals and coordinated CapaCare's Surgical Training Programme. In addition to his training at the Wilhelmina Children's Hospital in Utrecht, he remains actively involved in education in Sierra Leone and with CapaCare International as a board member.
Minke Huibers is a paediatric haemato-oncologist at the Princess Máxima Centre in Utrecht and active within Máxima International. After her training and PhD at Amsterdam UMC, she worked in paediatric oncology in Malawi. She is also involved in education and international collaborations within global paediatric oncology, with a particular focus on malnutrition in children with cancer in low- and middle-income countries.
Hanaâ Benjeddi is a paediatrician and fellow in paediatric intensive care at Emma Children's Hospital. She is conducting PhD research on children's health in refugee contexts. In her work, she combines clinical care with research on the impact of migration and living conditions on child health.
Dutch
English