Issue Links
Malaria in early life
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Published: October 13, 2020
Malaria infections are harmful to both the pregnant mother and the developing fetus. Malaria is associated with a 3–4 times increased risk of miscarriage and a substantially increased risk of stillbirth, and it disproportionately affects children younger than 5 years. Falciparum malaria is responsible for more than 200 000 child deaths per year in Africa and vivax malaria causes excess mortality in children in Asia and Oceania. In a duet of papers, we review the deleterious effects of malaria in pregnancy on the developing fetus (paper 1) and the current strategies for prevention and treatment of malaria in children (paper 2).
Delivering transformative action in paediatric pain
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Published: October 14, 2020
Every infant, child, and adolescent will experience pain at times throughout their life. Paediatric pain ranges from acute to chronic, and includes procedural, disease-related, breakthrough, and other types of pain. Despite its ubiquity, pain is often silenced and appropriate relief too infrequently given. Undertreated, unrecognised, or poorly managed pain in young people can have long-lasting negative consequences in later life, including continued chronic pain, disability, and distress. It is time for change. This Lancet Child & Adolescent Health Commission presents four transformative goals—to make pain matter, understood, visible, and better. It sets out priorities for clinicians, researchers, funders, and policy makers, and calls for cross-sector collaboration to deliver the action needed to improve the lives of children and adolescents with pain.
Institutionalisation and deinstitutionalisation of children
Published: June 23, 2020
This Lancet Group Commission advocates global reform of the care of separated children through the progressive replacement of institutional provision with safe and nurturing family-based care. It provides essential information on both the global scale of institutionalisation and its physical, social, and mental health consequences. It presents a pragmatic roadmap for carefully managed change.