GLANCE was founded under the umbrella of the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI), a Europe based non-profit organisation that had been active within the realm of preterm and newborn health since 2008. When EFCNI was founded back in 2008, Chairwoman and Co-founder Silke Mader had the aim to make change happen for all families of preterm or ill born babies in terms of improving care, providing information and support. At this time, geographic distances, language barriers, funding issues and other obstacles made it too big of a challenge to set up an organisation that was able to operate on a global level from the beginning. A first international parent organisations meeting in Rome in November 2008, made a start for fruitful international collaborations and over the years, as the network grew larger, the foundation could establish close ties to NGOs, patient and parent organisations and medical experts across the globe.
In 2018, GLANCE was officially registered and in June/July 2019 the GLANCE Founding Committee met for the first time. Patient representatives from 15 countries gathered and worked together to make progress in structural and organisational regards, and to settle for first areas of activities and to decide on first global campaigns. Moreover, the committee elaborated a global Call to Action with eight political demands to advance the care for babies born too soon, too small or too sick and the support, given to their families.
“My work with EFCNI has shown me the striking disparities in neonatal healthcare we are facing in Europe. Through EFCNI’s partnership with international organisations like the WHO, Save the Children, UNICEF, USAID and many other organisations and individuals, I learnt that there are worldwide issues a European based organisation, cannot tackle. We need first-hand information about the most pressing needs in regions like Africa, Asia our South America and even more important, contacts and spokespersons on site. Therefore, we must establish a strong global network to efficiently join forces and to become a powerful voice for all these children and their parents who do not have a voice so far.”
Silke Mader – Chairwoman of EFCNI, Co-founder of GLANCE