New Turkish director assigned to International Pediatric Association

ISTANBUL

Kerem Hasanoğlu has been assigned as the new head of the external relations department of the International Pediatric Association (IPA), one of the world’s largest health organizations, daily Hürriyet reported on Feb. 9. 

The new director is also the general coordinator of the Turkish Pediatric Association (TPK). IPA head Errol Alden said he is excited about Hasanoğlu’s directorship.

Hasanoğlu emphasized the importance the IPA attaches to refugee children and their right to live.

“If a child doesn’t have the right to live, there is no point to focus on their health. The IPA is aware that a child’s right to life is more important than anything,” he said.

Hasanoğlu also said one of his main objectives is to increase awareness about what Turkey is doing, especially for refugee children.

“Turkey is the most active country when it comes to refugee children. We want to strongly highlight the activities Turkey conducts for refugee children and share these with other stakeholders of the IPA around the world,” he said.

The IPA was founded in Paris in 1910 by a group of European pediatricians and currently represents more than a million pediatricians from over 140 countries with the aim of improving the health of children around the world.