This article was written by Tatiana Drummond, Paediatric ID Specialist, Hospital Universitario de Caracas and Universidad Central, Venezuela. It is taken from the Penta 2023 Annual Social Report.
I started my PentaTr@ining journey in 2020, as both a speaker and a student, during a residential training course held in El Salvador. It was an important opportunity to share insights and updates on the clinical management of children and young people living with HIV, as well as other paediatric infections. The experience at this workshop proved extremely fruitful, serving not only to strengthen my knowledge, but also to establish strategic relationships that would later allow for the creation of ongoing joint collaborations with other Latin American and European paediatric ID experts.
In the autumn of 2021, working together with the PLANTAIDS regional network, Penta continued to expand its training activities in Latin America by organising an event that was transmitted virtually over a dozen countries, and where 14 Venezuelan specialists had the opportunity to participate in the interactive online course “PentaTr@ining 2021: ‘HIV and other Congenital Infections”. In my opinion, both the modules and the live case sessions were of unparalleled quality.
While participating in the different courses offered by Penta, many relevant research projects were also concurrently strengthened as a direct result of the links formed through these trainings. Papers have already been published, where cooperation between specialists from different Latin American countries truly marks a milestone in medical advancement in the region. One of these works, entitled “Follow-up for 3 years of a paediatric population diagnosed in 2018 with mother-to-child transmission of HIV in 8 Latin American countries in the PLANTAIDS cohort” has been recently accepted for publication in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases.
In 2023, with the number of COVID-19 cases having decreased globally, we were delighted to return to face-toface PentaTr@ining meetings in Latin America. In September, we were able to meet together for our first ever residential course in Lima, Peru. During this workshop several fresh research links and professional collaborations took shape among the international paediatric ID specialists in attendance. As a result, I feel we are able to work together more effectively towards the ultimate goal of caring for children and young people living with HIV and other infectious diseases.
Throughout these last few years, I have been nothing but reassured and encouraged by the PentaTr@ining events. I am grateful not only for having acquired practical expert knowledge, but also for reaping the benefits of unique networking opportunities to engage with individuals working at the highest level within multifaceted paediatric ID networks in Latin America, Europe, and beyond.
Tatiana is the founder of the Postgraduate Program in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital of Caracas and a professor of Tropical Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of the UCV, as well as the Coordinator of the Postgraduate Program in Pediatric Infectious Diseases.