Maternal and Child Health

Director: Dr. Janice Woolford
Tel #: 592 227 3509

Goal

To reduce maternal and infant mortality by 50% from its present value over the next years.

General Objectives

• Reduce the Maternal and Child Mortality and Morbidity
• Increase the percentage of mothers and children receiving Maternal and Child Health Care.
• Iincrease access of Maternal and Child Health Services to all citizens.
• Provide prenatal, intra-natal and postnatal care including family planning services to women.
• Reduce the incidence of infants born to HIV Positive Mothers.
• Reduce infant and childhood morbidity and mortality by implementing strategies such as Integrated Management of Childhood Illness at the Primary Health Care levels.

Maternal and Child Health (MCH) is the largest vertical programme in the Ministry of Health. The services include antenatal, intra-natal and postnatal care, immunization, education, nutritional advice and supplementation and family planning. Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI), Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission Programme on HIV (PMTCT) are strategies being used to reduce the incidence of infant and maternal mortality These services are provided at health facilities in all regions by all categories of health workers including doctors, Public Health Nurses, Health Visitors, Nursing Assistants, Community Health Workers. Services are also provided at district, regional, private and company hospitals.

The most successful component of the MCH programme is the Expanded Programme on Immunization.

Efforts have been directed to encouraging prenatal mothers to enroll early at clinic during pregnancy, so that the routine blood testing can be done to minimize problems during and after delivery. Health workers are trained in the identification of high risk conditions of pregnancy and when to refer for emergency obstetric care. Women are advised on the use of low cost, economical diets which are well balanced from all the six four groups so that they can have adequate iron levels, thus reducing the complications of anaemia and post partum haemorrhage.