Intersectoral Partnership for the Development of an Action Plan to Guarantee the Rights to Life, Health, and Development for Newborns at Risk

The meeting aimed to open a structured dialogue between institutions, healthcare professionals, and non-governmental organisations, including patient associations, to place on a shared agenda the critical issues related to the care of newborns at risk: Parental access to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU), the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) method, early intervention, and the establishment of multidisciplinary follow-up centres for newborns at risk after discharge.

These figures, from official sources (INS, ANPDPD, UBB studies), clearly show that early intervention and the coherent organisation of the care pathway—from Neonatal Intensive Care to follow-up in specialised centres and then into the community—can no longer be postponed.

Special guests of the event

The event would not have been possible without the involvement and openness of the institutions and professionals who committed to long-term collaboration. Key guests included:

• Mirabela Grădinaru, First Lady of Romania – host of the event, who advocated for a coordinated national effort to support children born prematurely.

• Dr. Alexandru Rogobete, Minister of Health – representing the central authority responsible for health policies and improving the quality of maternal and child health services.

• Dragoș Pîslaru, Minister of Investment and European Projects – supporter of initiatives aimed at improving medical services for mothers and children.

• Dr. Cătălin Cîrstoveanu, representative of the Neonatology Commission of the Ministry of Health, who presented progress in Neonatal Intensive Care supported through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and steps towards the establishment of the Prematurity Registry.

• Prof. Dr. Manuela Cucerea, President of the Romanian Neonatology Association, who emphasised the need for data collection on premature infants, both during hospitalisation and throughout post-discharge follow-up.

• Prof. Dr. Livia Maria Ognean, Vice President of the Romanian Neonatology Association, advocate for Kangaroo Mother Care in Romania, presenting “The Road to a National Guideline.”

• Assoc. Prof. Dr. Adrian Ioan Toma, coordinator of the newly launched Ministry of Health Guideline “Follow-up of Newborns at Risk for Neurological and Developmental Sequelae.”

• Corina Croitoru, founding member and president of ARNIS, who brought forward the voice of families of premature infants: the need to improve parental access in NICU and a solution to reduce the number of children with disabilities in Romania—the establishment of multidisciplinary follow-up centres.

• Dr. Oana Blaga, lecturer at the Department of Public Health, UBB, contributing with research-based perspectives in the presentation “From Cost to Investment: Financial Insights from International Studies.”

• Dr. Uldis Mitenbergs, WHO Representative in Romania, who launched the Romanian version of the Kangaroo Mother Care guideline.

• Ileana Fălcescu, ARNIS member, who spoke from her personal experience about “The Complexity of the Recovery Process in Premature Infants.”

• Silvia Măgureanu, ARNIS member, with a moving presentation on “The Fragility of the Premature Infant and the Importance of Healthy Attachment.”

The Round Table moderator was Diana Iancu, Presidential Advisor.

Participants also included parliamentarians, representatives of health institutions, medical and therapeutic experts (neonatologists, paediatricians, neurologists, obstetricians, physiotherapists, psychotherapists, occupational therapists), representatives of NGOs active in neonatology, civil society representatives, and parents of premature infants, who provided the lived-experience perspective.

Central themes of discussion

1.Parental access in Neonatal Intensive Care Units
It was emphasised that parental presence in the NICU is not a “gesture of goodwill” but a medical and psychological necessity with direct impact on the child’s evolution and risk of complications.

2.Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)
Data show that skin-to-skin contact can reduce infant mortality by up to 40% and shorten hospital stays when correctly and structurally implemented.

3.Multidisciplinary follow-up centres for newborns at risk
The need for early intervention to continue after discharge—through centres where children are monitored by multidisciplinary teams—was reiterated.

4.Prematurity Registry and data for public policies
Participants discussed the necessity of a national registry to monitor the evolution of premature infants, enabling evidence-based health policy decisions.

5.Expanded screening for prenatal and neonatal detectable conditions

Purple illumination of Cotroceni Presidencial Palace and activities in maternity hospitals

The Round Table was followed by press statements and the illumination of Cotroceni Presidencial Palace in purple—the international colour of prematurity promoted by GFCNI worldwide—as a gesture of solidarity for premature infants and their families.

The two working groups: directions and plans

A concrete outcome of the Cotroceni Round Table is the establishment of two working groups with clearly defined missions:

1.The Working Group on Parental Access and the Implementation of Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) in neonatal units.

2.The Working Group on Multidisciplinary Follow-up Centres for Newborns at Risk.

In the coming period, these groups will continue their work through technical meetings, consultations with field professionals, and collaboration with relevant institutions, so that the proposals can be transformed into operational policies and programmes.

Proposals for the two Working Groups may be submitted to: [email protected]

Acknowledgements and Gratitude

ARNIS extends its gratitude to all institutions and organisations that made this meeting possible: the Presidential Administration, the Ministry of Health, the Romanian Neonatology Association, the World Health Organization – Romania Office, the Global Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants, the universities and professional societies involved, as well as the experts, physicians, therapists, parliamentarians, and NGO representatives who engaged in this dialogue.

A special chapter is dedicated to ARNIS’s sponsors and financial partners, who consistently support programmes for premature infants and newborns at risk. Without their contribution, early intervention, professional training, psychological support, and medical recovery activities could not be carried out with the same level of consistency and impact. The full list of partners and sponsors is available in the Partners section of our website.

Through this Round Table and the formation of the two Working Groups, ARNIS and its partners take an important step from identifying problems to jointly building concrete solutions.

The goal is clear: supporting premature infants’ start in life for a better future and ensuring access to high-quality healthcare, everywhere, for every child.