Background
The Children in Crisis (CiC) Program seeks to address the health needs of children in humanitarian contexts. Over 400 million, or approximately one in six, children live in conflict zones. Nearly 37 million children are displaced due to conflict, poverty, or natural disasters. These children face disproportionate risks that have significant impacts on their ability to attain the highest level of health possible. In conflict settings, they are particularly vulnerable to harm from the loss of caregivers, disruption of social systems, direct violence, and limited access to pediatric health services. Understanding and responding to the unique needs of children in these environments is crucial to supporting children’s right to health and to prevent, mitigate, and address detrimental health consequences.
‍Mission
The CiC program partners with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, donors, governments, and academic institutions to provide technical expertise and implementation support to address pediatric health needs in humanitarian contexts. By working collaboratively with partner organizations and communities, we help to define both immediate and long-term needs of affected populations, guide program development and implementation, and strengthen national and international resilience strategies. Our focus is on delivering targeted, effective, and sustainable interventions in collaboration with communities and partners.
‍Program Streams
CiC supports affected communities, partners, and governments through the following program streams: Knowledge Production, Technical Support, Education, and Policy and Advocacy.  

Current and Past Projects:

Caring for the Caregivers in Laos

The capacity for pediatric care at partner site Laos Friends Hospital for Children (LFHC) has grown over the years, resulting in staff caring for higher acuity children, including the critically ill and injured. The emotional burden of caring for these children took its toll on hospital staff, so our partnership was expanded to include a support program for caregivers to infuse a culture of wellness and reduce burnout.

Epidemiology & Biostatistics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In early 2020, Dr. Mohsin Ali joined our collaborators in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where he taught epidemiology and biostatistics to pediatric residents and gained clinical experience working with partners at Muhimbili University and Muhimbili National Hospital.

Supporting Quality Healthcare in Uzbekistan

BCH GHP has partnered with Bukhara State Medical Institute in Uzbekistan to enhance pediatric hospital care. Our multi-disciplinary team of physicians and nurses visited Bukhara to collaborate on a self study working towards achieving international hospital accreditation.

Using Hand Hygiene to Decrease Healthcare-Associated Infections

As a resident in the Boston Combined Residency Program, Jeffrey Campbell MD, MPH worked with the organization HAIVN to study hand hygiene improvement tools at the Vietnam National Children's Hospital in Hanoi, Vietnam. This unique tool engaged families to remind and encourage healthcare workers to perform hand hygiene, significantly increasing hand hygiene rates.

Postgraduate Pediatric Curriculum in Rwanda

The Human Resources for Health (HRH) Program, a 7-year capacity strengthening partnership between US academic institutions and the Rwandan Ministry of Health, ended in 2019. While the COVID-19 pandemic limited the ability to provide in-person post graduate teaching, our team helped bridge this gap by collobratively developing and implementing hybrid pediatric and public health training for resident physicians.

University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) at Kigali, Rwanda

Established the foundation for a pediatric clerkship at the Rwanda Military Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda that included restarting simulation cases and reviewing the medical education curriculum.

Neonatal Nursing Education and Quality Improvement Initiatives in Liberia

In 2021, clinical leaders at JFK Medical Center (JFK) in Monrovia, Liberia identified targeted neonatal nursing education as a priority initiative. This partnership is a continued collaboration for neonatal nursing support between Boston Children’s Hospital’s Global Health Program (BCH) and JFK.

Pediatric Oncology Nursing in Ghana

From 2020-2024, a specialized pediatric oncology curriculum developed by Ghanaian stakeholders and international partners was taught by Colleen Nixon and Kim Shephard to 29 nurses from 6 hospitals throughout Ghana.

Basic Life Support Training in Bangladesh

Global Health Nursing Fellow, Erin Babine, facilitated Basic Life Support training for 37 health care professionals in Bangladesh.

Improving Emergency Care in Bihar, India

BEPREPARED is a partnership with CARE-India and the Bihar State Ministry of Health to assess, design, implement and evaluate emergency care systems improvements. A multimodal intervention including equipment investment, renovation, just in time teaching and shoulder to shoulder mentorship emergency care was strengthened at five District Hospitals in Bihar State, India serving over 15 million people.

Improving Pediatric Neurology Care in Zambia

Since 2014, Dr. Archana Patel has partnered with Zambian colleagues to significantly advance pediatric neurology care by enhancing training, supporting research, and strengthening community programs to address critical treatment gaps for children with epilepsy.

Training Pediatricians in Liberia

GHP has been pivotal in post-war Liberia, establishing the first pediatric residency program and training 32 pediatricians locally for the first time in the country's history. Work now focuses on expanding pediatric specialty care, improving newborn care, and supporting ongoing research and training across Liberia and West Africa.