Brazil has just given a new boost to the protection of boys and girls in their early years. In August, the Integrated National Early Childhood Policy was established, bringing together the Federal Government, states, and municipalities around a common goal: ensuring that every child, from birth to age 6, has access to care, education, health, and protection that respect their uniqueness and potential. This is a legal instrument that reinforces and updates the principles already established in the Legal Framework for Early Childhood (Law No. 13,257/2016), in the Child and Adolescent Statute (Law No. 8,069/1990), and in Article 227 of the Brazilian Federal Constitution, recognizing that this is a decisive period for human development — when brain connections are shaped by every experience, affection, and stimulus.

At Pequeno Príncipe Hospital, this understanding is already a daily practice. In 2024, more than half of the hospitalized patients — 58.46%, equivalent to 9,417 boys and girls — were between 0 and 6 years old. Among them, about 1,500 required ICU care, representing 60% of admissions in this category of hospitalization, which reveals a more critical health situation. It was also in this stage of life that 33% of kidney transplants performed by the Hospital, 81% of liver transplants, 44% of heart transplants, and 37% of bone marrow transplants took place. Each figure demonstrates the institution’s role in guaranteeing an elementary right: to receive specialized, high-complexity care, with the constant presence of the mother, father, or caregiver, to ensure their right to life.

Learn more details about this subject in the main article of the 2025 August edition of the Pequeno Príncipe News.

 In this newsletter edition, you will also check the articles below. Click on the links to read the full length texts.

• Pequeno Príncipe reaffirms national leadership in pediatric neurosurgery. At the Hospital, each neurosurgical procedure is the union of refined technique, cutting-edge technology, and care that recognizes the uniqueness of every boy and girl treated. And now, the Neurosurgery Service — one of the most complete in the country and synonymous with interdisciplinarity and experience accumulated over decades — is near of its 500th craniosynostosis surgery in the last ten years.
• The Biobank of the Pelé Pequeno Príncipe Research Institute contributes to advances in pediatric research. The Biobank is the first in Paraná state dedicated to research and today houses a strategic collection for pediatric science: about 2,700 participants and 30,000 human samples, preserved with quality protocols, traceability, and ethical access. This infrastructure connects the Hospital’s clinical practice to the Institute’s knowledge production, fueling research that improves diagnosis and drives innovative therapies for boys and girls..