Building on a remarkable past five years, marked by significant achievements and the agility to navigate a dynamic global landscape, Penta is poised to amplify its impact in the years to come.
Our reflections on the 2020-2024 period have yielded valuable lessons: the critical importance of adaptability in responding to emerging health crises, the extended impact achieved through strategic partnerships and network expansion, and the lasting value of investing in research infrastructure like the EPIICAL platform and c4c.
These insights have shaped our strategy for the next five years (2025- 2029), which remains faithful to our ethos: translating rigorous research into tangible solutions that improve global health outcomes for pregnant individuals, infants, children, and adolescents.
Our efforts will be guided by three main strategic pillars:
1. Nurturing a vibrant and collaborative international research network
Our network community is one of our greatest strengths. We will broaden our collaborations to further strengthen our research capacity and advance infectious diseases research in pregnancy and paediatrics, ensuring equitable contribution from underrepresented regions in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
2. Generating scientific evidence to inform guidelines and policies and to improve health outcomes for priority research areas and populations
We have identified key priorities for our research on prevention and management of infections in pregnant people, infants, children and adolescents organised into four dedicated working groups:
- HIV and viral hepatitis
- Serious bacterial and fungal infections
- Congenital and perinatal infections
- Respiratory infections.
Across all our priority research areas, we will foster the implementation of innovative methodologies supported by experts from our Clinical Pharmacology and Basic Science Working Group. We will promote knowledge exchange and strengthen local research capacity through our comprehensive Education and Training programme, and expand our Early Career Researchers programme to cultivate the next generation of scientific leaders.
3. Preparing to address (re-)emerging infection threats
Recent global events underscore the persistent threat of new and re-emerging infections, exacerbated by environmental change, conflicts and globalisation. We recognise that pregnant individuals, infants, children, and adolescents are at even higher risk of poorer health outcomes and greater inequities in such scenarios.
Penta’s strategic focus in the next five years will be to consolidate, harmonise and expand existing research capacity to enable a rapid targeted, effective and equitable research response to these threats. We will build upon the foundations laid in 2020-2024 to champion the specific needs of our target populations within ongoing and developing European and international research preparedness initiatives. By mobilising our network, we will identify critical preparedness questions relevant to these populations and ensure an effective response to (re-)emerging infection threats.
Underpinning all our efforts will be a strengthened engagement with local communities, young people, patients, and their families. We will prioritise their needs and actively integrate their perspectives into every stage of our work, from initial conception to final implementation.
Our overarching strategy remains focused on generating robust scientific evidence to inform guidelines, policies, and ultimately, practice. Penta is steadfast in its advocacy for equitable access to healthcare across all our activities and deeply committed to engaging with affected and at-risk communities to maximise our impact on global health.
Penta’s 2025-2029 Strategic Plan is now available here.