Welcome to the 6th International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Congress 2025
Event Details:
📅 Date: December 1-4, 2025
📍 Location: Barcelo Hotel, Guatemala City, Guatemala
🎯 Theme: Equity and opportunities for all children, with a special focus on caring for children from Indigenous and minority communities
On behalf of the International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) and Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance it is our pleasure to announce the Sixth International Developmental Pediatrics Association Congress, which will take place from December 1-4, 2025 in Guatemala City. This will include a commemoration of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2025.
This prestigious international event invites participants from disciplines that span all aspects of service delivery and research related to child development and developmental disabilities: developmental pediatricians, pediatrics, family medicine, public health, child mental health, disability, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, child development and education, early intervention, special education, social services, advocacy and policy. In previous years, the Congress has been held in Turkey, India, the Philippines, Lebanon (virtual), and South Africa. This is the first time the Congress will be held in Latin America, and we look forward to broad regional participation.
The theme for the 6th IDPA Congress will be Equity and Opportunities for All Children, with a special focus on Caring for Children from Indigenous and Minority Communities, given that Latin America has one of the largest Indigenous populations in the world. Recognizing the structural barriers that children with disabilities face in accessing healthcare, the conference will also foster collaboration with organizations of persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples with disabilities, and disability experts. This initiative aims to empower the voices of persons with disabilities and break down barriers to equitable healthcare, ensuring that no child is left behind.
Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance will serve as the local organizing partner for the Congress. Wuqu’ Kawoq is a nonprofit organization in Guatemala working to provide health services with linguistic and cultural competence to women, children and families from Indigenous and rural communities in Guatemala. IDPA is a professional society whose mission is to achieve equity in developmental pediatrics and related services for children and families around the world.
We estimate that 500-600 delegates from Guatemala, Latin American, and the global community will participate in the Congress. A special focus of all IDPA Congresses is that all work presented at the Congress must be conducted in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs). This creates a unique space for important voices and perspectives not usually represented in international early childhood conferences. The Congress agenda will include preconference workshops designed to augment the skills of professionals from LMICS, a main conference providing a space for sharing and learning, and mentorship dinners that provide opportunities to early career professionals to be mentored by experts from the global south and north.
We are available to meet to provide more details about this Congress and related opportunities.
Warm regards,
Anne Kraemer Diaz, MA
Chief Executive Officer, Wuqu’ Kawoq
Peter Rohloff MD PhD FAAP
2025 IDPA Congress President
Kirsten Donald MBChB PhD
IDPA Executive Board President
Executive Board
Ezgi Özalp Akin
Turkey
Ezgi Özalp Akın is an associate professor at Ankara University Developmental Pediatrics Division, Turkey and a member of International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA) Secretarial Board. She works for the education of medical doctors and pediatricians in developmental pediatrics and using International Guide for Monitoring Child Development, and advocacy for children with developmental difficulties and their families. Her research interests are related to the use of International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health Framework to assess and support children with developmental difficulties and their families.
Kirsty Donald
South Africa
Prof Kirsty Donald is Deputy Director of the UCT Neuroscience Institute and for the last 15 years has headed up the Division of Developmental Paediatrics at the Red Cross Children’s War Memorial Hospital.
Scientifically, she has contributed to our understanding of both phenotypic variability and genetic variation in developmental conditions in the African region.
Internationally, she has served on the UNICEF expert panel for global standard-setting in early childhood development and is a member of the WHO Strategic and Technical Advisory Group on Mental Health, Brain Health and Substance Use.
Paying forward, Prof Donald has a deep commitment to training and expanding expertise in African neuroscience. Currently, she also leads a large, internationally funded research and capacity development portfolio in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Neuroscience Institute.
Koyeli Sengupta
India
Koyeli Sengupta is a developmental pediatrician with a post-graduate degree in Pediatric medicine and Clinical Psychology. She is the Director of Autism Intervention Services at Ummeed, a premier not for profit organization in Mumbai, India,much respected for its work in the field of children with disabilities.
Koyeli has been instrumental in growing Ummeed’s autism services into a range of clinical services that cater to a range of autism related difficulties across childhood and adolescence. Under her leadership, Ummeed’s autism intervention team has also conceptualized and implemented training programs to build capacity in the community to provide evidence-based, child-directed, family-centered and comprehensive autism care to children and families. In 2016, she led the development and implementation of AITP (Autism Intervention Training Program) – a one of its kind training program in India for professionals working with children with autism.
Lama Charafeddine
Lebanon
Dr. Charafeddine is a Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Neonatology at the American University of Beirut (AUB), Division of Neonatology. She is a diplomat of the American Board of Pediatrics and Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. She is the founder and director of the Developmental Care and Early Intervention Program and the Neonatology Continuity Follow up Clinic at AUB. She is a certified professional in the Newborn Individualised Developmental Care Assessment Program (NIDCAP) and a mentor instructor in Neonatal resuscitation program.
Dr. Charafeddine is a UNICEF global consultant and WHO technical advisor on Early Child Development. Since March 2023, Dr. Charafeddine serves as the chairperson of the National Preterm and Newborn Care Committee at the Ministry of Public Health. She is currently co-chairing the International Pediatric Association Early Child Development committee.
Her research revolves around developmental care and ultra-early intervention, quality improvement of care, early child development, and developmental outcome of premature infants.
Ma. Rochelle Buenavista-Pacifico
Phillipines
Dr. Pacifico is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician. She is a Full professor in the College of Medicine, De La Salle Medical Health Sciences Institute, a consultant/clinician and Chair for Hospital Services of the Department of Pediatrics in the De La Salle University Medical Center in Cavite, Philippines. Also active in training and mentoring fellows at the Brother Miguel Febres Cordero Neurodevelopmental Center, she continues to involve herself in research and advocacies in the promotion of child development and behavior in Filipino children, collaborating with local government units in various community programs involving children and adolescents with special needs.
Dr. Pacifico is a Founding Fellow of the Philippine Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and served as president of the society in 2017 and 2018. She is also a Fellow of the Philippine Pediatric Association and an executive board member of the International Developmental Pediatric Association (IDPA).
Revan Mustafa
Turkey
Dr. Revan Mustafa is a developmental pediatrician who has devoted his professional career to implementation and dissemination of healthcare services related to supporting early childhood development. He is an international Guide for Monitoring Child Development (GMCD) trainer, and has supported Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan in training national GMCD trainers. He is committed to supporting regional healthcare professionals in building their skills and competencies necessary for addressing developmental difficulties. Dr. Mustafa is one of WHO and UNICEF consultants in ECD in Europe and Central Asia region, and an executive board member of International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA).
Roopa Srinivasan
India
Dr. Roopa Srinivasan, has over 17 years of experience as a practicing Developmental Paediatrician. She heads the Clinical Services at Ummeed Child Development Centre, a leading Not for Profit Organization that works in the space of child development and disabilities in India. She is the Coordinator of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics Accredited Fellowship Program in Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrics at Ummeed. She was part of the international research team that was involved in the standardization and validation of the Guide for Monitoring Child Development in four Low- and Middle-Income Countries. She is currently part of an NIH funded international project on implementation of the GMCD in rural India and Guatemala. Her current work focusses on implementation of Family Centred Service Delivery Models and Participation Focussed Intervention Approaches in low resource settings.
secretarial Board
Ashwini Marathe
India
Dr. Ashwini Marathe is a developmental pediatrician at Ummeed Child Development Center, a leading, not-for-profit organization that works in the field of developmental disabilities, in India.
Karyn Choy
Guatemala
Karyn is a research nurse in early childhood development in Maya Health Alliance in Guatemala and has been collaborating with Maya Health Alliance for 10 years in different programs. She has more than 16 years of experience working in different programs for NGO’s promoting the communities’ development in rural areas of Guatemala. During these years, she has actively promoted health, nutrition and the development of communities, the women empowerment, access to quality health services, the human rights. She does volunteer work and activism promoting equality, Women and indigenous rights through different movements and organizations. She has a bachelor’s degree in nursing school at Panamericana University, in Guatemala and an Associate degree in Business entrepreneurship at Rockland Community College NY
Leera Lobo
India
Dr. Leera Lobo is a developmental pediatrician at Ummeed Child Development Center, a leading, not-for-profit organization that works in the field of developmental disabilities, in India. She supports the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) accredited Fellowship Program in Developmental and Behavioural Pediatrics at Ummeed and is the coordinator for ECHO Autism (an online training program run by Ummeed hub team in India to support physicians working with children with autism)
Milos Sremcev
Serbia
Miloš Sremčev is a pediatrician, child and adolescent psychotherapist and resident in child and adolescent psychiatry. He is engaged in scientific work and researches the early development of children living in substandard settlements.
Riddhi Mehta
India
Dr. Riddhi Mehta is a developmental pediatrician from Mumbai. She has previously worked with Ummeed Child Development Centre, one of India’s leading not for profit organisations, and is a master trainer for the international Guide for Monitoring Child Development (GMCD). She is trained in the use of narrative practices and loves conversations with children and young people. Her hope is to create a space where all children feel heard, free to voice their concerns and able to ask anything they want to their doctor.
Sashmi Moodley
South Africa
Dr. Sashmi Moodley is a humanitarian. She has committed her passion to the clinical care for children within the health sector of South Africa for over 17 years. She holds a Master’s degree in Paediatrics as well as in Child Development. Whilst working as a paediatrician and sub specialist in neurodevelopment at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and New Somerset Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, her role as a senior lecturer and examiner within the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at University of Cape Town has led to a growing interest in translational research. Her questions aim to include the voices of parents of children with developmental disabilities into clinical paediatrics whilst understanding the intricacies between caregiver resilience and family quality of life particularly in resource poor settings. Dr Moodley actively partners with organizations that drive advocacy for children with rare diseases and neurodevelopmental conditions. She has the honour of working with the secretarial board of the International Developmental Paediatrics Association and has led the co-ordination of the 5th congress in Africa.
Sara Hidalgo
Guatemala
Sara Hernández is a Guatemalan educational psychologist, with a master’s degree in Child and Adolescent Development Management. She is now a Fellow in child development and Research Assistant in the Maya Health Alliance/Wuqu’ Kawoq, a non-profit Guatemalan organization dedicated to mayan health, and currently working in a research study about the effectiveness of the Guide for Monitoring Child Development in Guatemala. She was a co-investigator in a research study about the neurodevelopmental effects of Zika Virus in children living in rural areas of Guatemala. After that, her work has focused on child development research, child assessment and children’s rights.
Selamenesh Tsige Legas, MD
Ethiopia
Dr. Selamenesh Tsige Legas is a passionate advocate for children with disabilities and their families. In 2019, she established the first developmental pediatrics clinic in Ethiopia, running it independently through international affiliations. After receiving a scholarship at the University of Toronto in 2021, she trained at Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and became the first Ethiopian Developmental Pediatrician. She is now an integral part of the dynamic team of Developmental Pediatricians at Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, Western University, London, Ontario.
Dr Legas is 2022/2023 University of Toronto Postgraduate Leadership Program alumna and has recently been selected for the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AACPDM) Emerging Leaders Program. She holds various international leadership roles, including positions at the International Alliance Academies of Childhood Disabilities (IAACD), Global Professional Educational Consortium (GPEC), Physicians of Ontario Neuro-Developmental Advocacy group (PONDA), AACPDM International Affairs Committee, AACPDM Scientific Committee and the Eastern African Academy of Childhood Disability (EAACD). She was also a team lead in the ECD curriculum development for Pediatrics residents through the Eastern Central and Southern Africa College of Pediatrics and Child Health (ECSAPACH).
Dr Legas’s research interests focus on knowledge translation in childhood disability within low-resource settings. Recently, she has been working on the adoption, translation, and clinical integration of early identification and developmental coaching tools for childhood onset disabilities. She is also an advocate of family centred care, showcased through her PONDA podcast (Function vs. Diagnosis) and the organization she founded, Gojo Accommodation and Temporary Shelter for Patients in Need NGO in Ethiopia. She is an alumna of the 2020/2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship and Professional Developmental Experience program in the USA.
Dr. Legas is honored to serve on the Secretarial Board of the International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA).
Read from the previous congress 2023 in South Africa
Read more about the International Developmental Pediatrics Association (IDPA)
