The Kenya Paediatric Association (Kpa) 2012 Annual Scientific Conference

The KPA Conference is a unique forum that brings together one of the largest gathering of Kenyan paediatricians to deliberate on issues, gain knowledge and share experiences in a variety of areas of the profession. This year’s theme was “Under Fives: Back to Basics” and focused on cutting practices in neonatology, rotavirus, pneumonia, malaria, HIV/Aids, malnutrition, and acute kidney Injury, among others. Paediatricians from the East African countries (Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Rwanda) also attended.

The conference featured a NNIA symposium on the “First 1000 Days in Nutrition”; from the institute standpoint that it was vital to sensitise health care professionals (HCPs) about those scientific evidences that support the fact that adult health is partly determined by the nutrition and environment one is exposed to during a critical period of development. Indeed, to understand the cause of chronic adult disease, including ageing, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and lung problems, we need to look much further back than adult lifestyle – in fact, to the first 1000 days!

In this context, the discussion was opened around the importance of the First 1000 days in Nutrition. The 1000 days starts with a woman’s pregnancy and lasts up to her child’s second birthday; hence positioning maternal nutrition as a decisive factor in ensuring a proper intrauterine environment for the development of the fetus. In addition, better nutrition in the first 1000 days of life improves cognitive development, school achievement and earnings, thereby building human capital at the population level.