CHILD HEALTH PROMOTION WEEK CELEBRATION

The second week of May every year is celebrated as child health promotion week in Ghana. The week which is being celebrated from the 10^th of May to the 14^th of May is aimed at reducing child morbidity and mortality by creating an increased demand for child health care services. The 2021 CHPWC was celebrated under the theme “Sustaining Child Health Services in the midst of COVID-19 Pandemic”

During the week’s celebration, care givers were educated on the need to ensure and sustain the provision of child survival interventions such as Vitamin A supplementation, routine immunization, growth monitoring and promotion.

The following activities were carried out during the celebration:

• Weighing and height measurement of children
• Breastfeeding Counselling Support
• Vitamin A supplementation
• Immunization against childhood diseases.
• Promoting the use of chlohexidine for umbilical cord care.  
• Education on COVID-19 prevention protocols.
• Education on preventing malaria with Insecticide treated Nets etc.

Table 1: Essential services rendered during CHPWC

GIRLS IRON-FOLATE TABLET SUPPLEMENTATION (GIFTS)

The Girls Iron –Folate Tablet Supplemtation programme is designed to provide weekly IFA supplement through schools, health facilities and other channels to adolescent between the ages of 10-19years of age with the aim preventing anemia among adolescents. During the first half of the year, the unit provided IFA tablet to 543 adolescents that are out of school. Counseling was also provided on iron rich foods and other iron inhibitors.   

The micronutrient supplementation programme is a strategy being implemented to ensure that all children between the ages of 6 – 59 months are given vitamin A to protect them from developing micronutrient deficiencies such as blindness, diarrheal diseases, and reduced immunity etc.

For the first half of 2021, 3691 children between 6 – 59months were dosed with vitamin A.

Vitamin supplementation is given to children during child welfare clinic, home visits, at schools, and also during mop ups

A child receiving vitamin A during home visit.

PREGNANCY SCHOOL HELD

Pregnancy school is a structured non formal class organized for pregnant women, their spouses, families and all interested individuals to improve communication on pregnancy, childbirth and newborn.

The nutrition unit for the half of the year organized three (3) pregnancy school sessions at the Peki government hospital. Topics discussed include;

• Management of anemia during pregnancy
• Importance of hospital delivery
• Benefit of pregnancy school.
• Food demonstration

PREGNANCY SCHOOL ATTENDANCE

GROWTH MONITORING AND PROMOTION

This is the regular measurement of a child’s size in order to determine whether the child is growing well or not.  This session also offers the care giver the opportunity to know the weight of her child as well.

During this session children under 5 are:

1. Weighed
2. Length and height are measured
3. Care givers are counselled
4. Children who are deviating from the normal weight are also identified during this session and managed accordingly.