1. Home
  2. Work we do

Global child health programmes

We help improve child health worldwide, with cost effective, high impact programmes. We work with our membership of experienced paediatricians and other child health professionals as well as partner organisations.

Our impact

Over the years, we've grown significantly, expanding the scale of our work. And, we've consolidated our strategy to focus on improving quality of clinical care for children in hospitals and health centres.
Impact

Our approach

We work with local partners, ministries of health and international development agencies in a wide range of low- and middle-income settings - with programmes in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, Nepal and Lebanon.
Approach
Two health professionals, one in face mask, review notes in a busy hospital setting

Get involved

We recruit and prepare doctors, nurses and other health professionals who help us in all aspects of programme delivery, usually through longer-term placements overseas in the Global Links programme.
Global Links

‘They are out, we are not.’ How overseas aid changed child health in Sierra Leone

The loss of funding because of the Overseas Development Assistance cuts in summer 2021 stalled a valuable programme. Dickya Labicane, Dr Alexandra Pledge and Dr Andrew McArdle wrote about the impact that programmes funded by overseas aid can have for infants, children and young people in developing countries, as well as how that impact carries back to the NHS. 

Read blog (on Medium)

More resources and position statements

Emergency Triage, Assessment and Treatment plus (ETAT+) - on RCPCH Learning
Other courses and overseas placements
Refugee and unaccompanied asylum seeking children and young people - guidance
Protection of children in conflict and child refugees - our position
Working in fragile and conflict-affected states - our position
International work and repressive regimes - our position
Rights of migrant, refugee, stateless and undocumented children - our position
Ukraine crisis - resources
Middle East crisis - resources

Opportunities in the UK for international doctors

Visiting Fellowships in global child health
Medical Training Initiative (paediatrics)
International Paediatric Sponsorship Scheme (IPSS)
Further opportunities in the UK for international doctors

Latest news and blogs relating to global child health

More news and blogs
RCPCH Podcasts with waveform, and photos of Dr Rashmi D'Souza and Heather Watson
Podcast
16 October 2024

Child health and climate change episode 3: Nepal

In this final episode of our podcast series on the changing climate, this mountainous country is seeing extreme temperature fluctuations, landslides and air pollution, endangering communities and impacting healthcare. But, there are some lessons around adaptation, as our guests who work or have volu...
RCPCH Podcasts | Photo of Julian Pleydell-Pearce
Podcast
9 October 2024

Child health and climate change episode 2: Canada

Floods, heatwaves and wildfires have become increasingly common across Canada. And as retired paediatrician Dr Julian Pleydell-Pearce explains in this episode of our climate change podcast series, this makes a profound impact on the lives of children and young people - and the way health services ar...