My dear PAN Executive Council Members, BOT Members, Elders and Distinguished members,
As we step into the promising year of 2025, I extend my warmest greetings and heartfelt wishes to each of you. May this new year bring boundless opportunities, and continued progress in our collective mission to enhance child health and well-being in Nigeria.
The past year has been a testament to our resilience, dedication, and unwavering commitment to safeguarding the health of our nation’s children. Your individual and collective efforts in clinical practice, research, advocacy, and community service have not gone unnoticed.
As I reflect on my tenure as President of PAN in 2024, I am filled with gratitude to God and thankful to you all for the milestones we accomplished together. Below are some of them:
- Advocacy to government, caregivers, care providers and the public, actively seeking the well-being and protecting the interest of children through engagements at meetings with policy makers and Press releases on issues that violated the rights and well-being of Nigerian children.
- Health education to the public on germane issues affecting children such as nutrition and immunization
- Our monthly educational webinars
- Capacity building of our members and allies: training of 326 immunization champions across all the states of Nigeria and FCT to advocate for immunization at state and community levels. Training on HBB in collaboration with NISONM with sharing of equipment after the training.
- Successfully hosting the IPA President Dr Naveen Thacker during our National PAN/IPA Immunization Champions training workshop
- Creating a vibrant social media presence with our dynamic website and other social media handles such as WhatsApp, LinkedIn, TikTok, X and Facebook.
- Restructuring PAN subcommittees to work towards safeguarding the interest of the Nigerian child and workers in the field of paediatrics and child health.
- Welfare support to members at crucial moments of need.
- Technical assistance and collaborative intervention during the Borno flood disaster
- Revamping our journal NJP by upgrading its manuscript processing from e-mail attachments to an online processing system, the OJS platform; delivering timely publications, adding international Consulting Editors to our Editorial Board and Indexing of NJP in the prestigious Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ) while working hard on more international indexing.
- Increasing our PAN News from an annual Newsletter to a biannual newsletter.
- Creating an excellent enabling environment for the smooth operation of PAN sub-specialty Societies with most of them now formally registered with PAN the parent body Association.
- Improved workings of PAN Office in Abuja through the addition of a project Manager and Accountant from the PAN/IPA Immunization Champions project support.
- Successfully organizing a Children’s art competition to commemorate 2024 Children’s day.
- Successfully holding a virtual experience sharing workshop of the PAN/IPA Immunization champions.
You have inspired change, saved lives, and brought comfort to countless families through your work.
In 2025, we aim to build on these successes and address emerging challenges. PAN will continue to champion initiatives that align with our shared vision of a healthier future for every Nigerian child. We invite all members to actively engage in our programs, share innovative ideas, and foster the spirit of unity that defines our association.
PANConf Gombe 2025 is calling. It promises to be educative, exciting and an excellent platform for networking as usual. The LOC ably led by Dr Ilya Jalo has worked hard to make it a memorable conference. Let’s keep the tradition. Please register to attend.
Thank you for your tireless dedication and passion. Together, we will make 2025 a landmark year in advancing child health in Nigeria. Making children the Number one agenda can’t wait. There is a short time to intervene in their lives. THE CHILD IS NOW.
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Dr Ekanem Ekure
PAN President
