Building long-term solutions for children’s health through innovation, collaboration, and compassion
RICHMOND, VA, March 14, 2025 (EZ Newswire) — World Pediatrics, led by an international team and board that is passionate and committed to its purpose, is materializing a transformative era in global pediatric healthcare. With operations in 14 countries and services in 27 nations across the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and the United States, the organization has successfully delivered care to over 25,000 children in its soon-to-be 25 years of operation. Today, its vision looks much further than direct care delivery—World Pediatrics aims to become a trusted partner in the evolving, systemic, and sustainable transformation of pediatric health systems.
“The sustainable transformation of pediatric health is not going to be heralded by simply being a service provider,” says World Pediatrics CEO Vafa Akhavan. “Real change comes when you are rooted in and partnering with the community to work within the system, empowering and transforming it for the future.”
World Pediatrics operates with a three-pillar approach to well-rounded, long-term, and sustainable care for underserved children: Deliver, Empower, and Transform. The first pillar focuses on direct surgical intervention, including secondary and complex tertiary surgeries that address the most critical medical needs of children. It spans 15 specialties to provide long-term, multi-intervention care from childhood to adulthood. The second pillar, Empower, revolves around training and capacity-building through partnerships with local pediatricians and health systems, ensuring that care extends beyond the operating room.
The third pillar, Transform, signifies the organization’s evolution into a trusted partner within the broader healthcare system. More than 450 million children under the age of five lack access to surgical care, with an estimated 17 million dying as a result. The absence of basic surgical care contributes to a death toll five times greater than that of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined—equivalent to more than 200 Boeing 737s crashing every day. Beyond the human toll, inadequate medical care in low- and middle-income countries results in an estimated $12.3 trillion in lost GDP. The high cost-effectiveness of many pediatric surgical interventions underscores the lost potential of providing decades of disability-adjusted life years to children and the economic value such care could bring to their nations.
That is why World Pediatrics has been expanding its efforts to transform care and drive systemic change from within the medical system over the past five years. By building infrastructure, supporting existing hospitals, and bringing together key stakeholders—including medical professionals, medical supply corporations, hospitals, NGOs, hospitality and travel organizations, and governments—World Pediatrics aims to strengthen pediatric healthcare and reduce infant mortality across the regions it serves.
“We are strengthening the system from within,” Akhavan explains. “When we partner with hospitals or governments, we’re there for the long haul by supporting their vision and enabling them to better serve the children.”
The cornerstone of the organization’s transformational impact is moving from being a service provider to a trusted partner with the healthcare sector, a philosophy that Akhavan brought from his extensive experience in the corporate and consulting worlds. “In business, you’re either a vendor or a partner. We could simply deliver a service, or as a partner, could create value. For us, trust is built when we prioritize the best interests of the partner instead of our own.”
One crucial example of this approach is World Pediatrics’ work with Hospital Maria in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, a state-of-the-art pediatric hospital that was experiencing underutilized capacity. World Pediatrics partnered with the hospital, working in collaboration with them for a year to develop a comprehensive five-year plan to increase its utilization up to 85%. With that partnership, Hospital Maria’s plan was approved and two (out of three) phases were financed by the government.
By realizing the hospital’s full potential at no cost, World Pediatrics built organic trust between the two. As Akhavan shares, “The relationship becomes an investment for the children. We’re not there to extract value, we’re there to make life better for children, their families, and therefore, their communities. That’s what makes us a partner and not just another provider.”
Although World Pediatrics’ mission is laser-focused on collaboration, Akhavan acknowledges the challenges of the underlying competition within the nonprofit sector. Nevertheless, the organization sees an opportunity to create a much greater impact when bypassing the territorial streak in the sector by scaling up. Drawing from his for-profit background, Akhavan believes that partnerships and roll-ups can generate exponential impact. When organizations work together, as partners or post-merger, there is greater strength and resources to serve the children.
“Too many small organizations are doing wonderful, life-changing work that lacks the scope to achieve systemic change,” he says. “When we joined forces with another organization a couple of years ago, the conversation was simple: How can we help more children together? That’s the only question needed to drive real change.”
As other members of the World Pediatrics team can attest, such as Managing Director of Emerging Opportunities Ross Silkman, the organization has fostered an environment built on trust and collaboration—both among institutional partners and donors. “I’ve seen the effects of our commitment to collaboration in action. By coming into a partnership without preconceived notions of its benefits to either party, we’re able to build and develop real trust. It’s those partnerships that create shared value,” says Silkman. “Bring the right people together in the right environment, and truly great things will emerge.”
World Pediatrics extends this philosophy to their donors as well, moving beyond traditional corporate social responsibility and redefining their relationships with major stakeholders. “When donors see that their investment is driving systemic change, it’s no longer a donation, it’s a partnership,” Silkman adds.
World Pediatrics’ trajectory from a service provider to a trusted partner cutting across multiple regions marks a new height in their effort towards transforming care. By working with and within systems, building capacities, and developing additional infrastructure, the organization is bringing pediatric healthcare to a new epoch of sustainable, long-lasting, equitable, and quality care for all children.
Akhavan concludes, “Our mission is to ensure that every child has access to the care they need. Not just today, but throughout their lifetime and for generations to come. Children are 30% of the population but 100% of our future. The children of today grow up to be the decision-makers of tomorrow. Invest in children and we’ll change the future of humanity.”
About World Pediatrics
World Pediatrics is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization with a mission to heal critically ill children and build healthcare capacity in the world. We partner with governments, health workers, and organizations to ensure that children in lower-resource settings have access to safe, timely surgical care. When children are healed, the social and emotional health of families is restored, and the economic productivity of communities is strengthened. For more information, visit https://worldpediatrics.org.
Media Contact
Romina Newman