By STANSLOUS NGOSA-
A Child’s health is the foundation of all growth, development and a strong determinant of future well being.
Child growth and development includes not only physical growth but also other important aspects such as cognitive (learning and thinking), social and emotional growth.
According to the World Health Organisation’s “Nurturing Care Framework”, optimal child growth and development require supportive and caring environments, which include provision and access to good and responsive care giving, safe environment, opportunities for early learning and of course, health and nutrition.
The Zambian Government, through the Ministry of Health, works with various collaborating partners to provide healthcare that targets all children without leaving any child behind under any circumstances.
As such, a number of programmes are in place to address all needs of child health.
One strategy is the biannual event dubbed Child Health Week, which is held every year in June and November.
The Child Health Week is dedicated to enhanced provision of unconditional and free health and nutrition services in all the 116 districts of Zambia through the respective provincial and district health offices.
Various child health services are provided and these include providing Vitamin A to children aged six months to five years and de-worming tablets to children from the ages of 12 months to five twice a year in June and November.
Vitamin A is provided as a supplement.
It provides added benefits as it promotes healthy growth.
Other Child Health Week services are child vaccinations, malnutrition screening, provision of Insecticide Treated Mosquito Nets (ITNs) to protect against malaria, among others.
The desire of the Ministry of Health is to provide services as close to the family as possible, and this is made even practical during the Child Health Week where outreach and door to door service delivery modes are employed to reach the women and children in the communities where these services are most needed.
Child health services during the Child Health Week do not only end at under-five children.
They also include services that target older children, 14 and 15-year-old girls to be specific, with the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
The Vaccine is targeted against cervical cancer, which is the most common type of cancer in women in Zambia.
The first round was conducted successfully in June 2021, amidst the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and under strict adherence to coronavirus prevention guidelines.
This is the scenario that is expected during the 2021 second round of Child Health Week, which will run from November 22 to November 27, 2021.
Again, mothers, fathers and all caregivers are urged to ensure that children are taken to receive the child health and nutrition services.
This time around, the Ministry of Health plans to provide the measles and rubella vaccines to all children in an effort to prevent measles and rubella, as well as the polio vaccine to prevent the dreaded polio disease in some districts which are at risk of outbreaks.
Eligible girls who missed their HPV vaccine during the first round will not be left out.
They are urged to ensure that they receive the vaccine during this period as well.
Children who may have missed their routine vaccinations and growth monitoring and promotion will be given an opportunity once again “catch up” and benefit from these life-saving services.
Other services include HIV test and treatment and follow up of HIV exposed babies and cross-cutting health promotion activities.
The call of the Ministry of Health is that everyone needs to do whatever they can to ensure that children grow up well without having to suffer any form of malnutrition or preventable ill health.
Therefore, parents and caregivers are urged to heed the call and ensure that they take their children for Child Health Week activities.
(The author is head-media relation in the Ministry of Health).