CAPGAN organises 14th Scientific Conference in New Delhi

Nine Commonwealth Nations deliberate upon the new age epidemics in children

The Commonwealth Association of Pediatric and Gastroenterology and Nutrition (CAPGAN), recently organised its 14th Scientific Conference in New Delhi. The meeting was hosted in collaboration with Medanta – the Medicity and the Indian Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition.

The conference aimed at providing a podium for doctors from various Commonwealth Nations to deliberate on the ‘new age epidemics’ faced by children. The issues addressed at the conference were a varied array of complications faced by children like vitamin D deficiency, malnutrition, celiac disease, GI, constipation, and obesity.

The scientific knowledge shared during the three days of CAPGAN 2015 helped the medical fraternity gain vision and responsiveness on the complications faced across developing countries, as well as educate them of the forthcoming advancement in the field of research analysis in the field of gastroenterology and paediatrics. Besides 350 registered delegates, over 70 international faculty members were present at the conference.

The National and International faculty from across specialties spoke at length regarding the key issues and main glitches faced by children in the majority of the Commonwealth nations. The conference saw special sessions dedicated to creating awareness of food allergies, IBD, GERD, celiac disease, diarrhoea, GI Infections, nutrition, malnutrition, obesity, fatty liver diseases, metabolic liver diseases, and viral hepatitis among others.

Speaking about the conference, Dr Neelam Mohan, Secretariat- CAPGAN 2015, and Director, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Liver Transplantation at Medanta said, “Conferences such as the CAPGAN 2015 are crucial to discourse and find effective solutions to the new age problems being faced by young children in the poverty-stricken Commonwealth Nations. While malnutrition is at the peak, there are major diseases that children are facing on a day-to-day basis such as, vitamin D deficiency, celiac disease, constipation, gastrointestinal and liver issues and fatal fatty liver diseases. A large section of the society remains oblivious to the fact that one in ever four children is found to be suffering from one of these problems. It has indeed been a proud moment for us to have nine countries participating in this three-day feast of medical excellence. We hope that together we can continue to work towards eliminating these ailments from their root to give our future generation a brighter and healthier future.”

Commenting on the pressing problem of diarrhoeal diseases in children, Dr Tahmeed Ahmed, Director & Senior Scientist, Centre for Nutrition & Food Security, icddr, b, Dhaka, Bangladesh said, “Till two decades ago, in over 40 per cent of childhood diarrhoea cases no pathogen could be identified although rotavirus was the major pathogen. With the availability of new methods, possibility of conducting large-scale surveys and improved techniques for pathogen detection, there is now a better understanding of the etiology of diarrhea among children. The Global Enteric Multicenter Study (GEMS) is one of the most promising research studies that to have been announced over the last two years. It focuses on moderate to severe diarrhoea (MSD) in seven Asian and African cities evaluated through a case-control study. According to its results, Rotavirus, Cryptospordium, Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Shigella are responsible for most diarrhea cases. Children with MSD are 8.5 times more likely to die than controlled children. Another issue that needs immediate attention is the problem of malnutrition. Around 165 million children globally are stunted which enhances the risk of an early death and an under-development of the brain. I congratulate the conference organisers and look forward to more such collaborative initiatives in the future.”

Speaking at the conference, Dr Bhupinder Sandhu, Consultant Paediatrician and Gastroenterologist Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. UK who had earlier served as the President of CAPGAN said, “The conference aimed at improving the welfare of children in Commonwealth countries through collaborative knowledge sharing. Experts from diverse fields came together, deliberated upon various issues related to the field of GI problems in children and shared their ideas.”

Dr Mohan was announced as the incoming Secretary (for two years) and President-Elect (for two years) for CAPGAN. She would be the 1st Indian National to hold this prestigious position.