RAJSHAHI, Oct 27, 2022 (BSS) - Integrated efforts have become crucial for ensuring sound child health through substantial and sustainable reduction of preventable mortality side by side with minimizing their illness and disability.

Collaborative approach is also important for promoting healthy growth and development of children less than five years of age as many of them with potentially fatal illnesses are taken care of by their caregivers and health workers.
 
Child health specialists came up with the observation while addressing the closing ceremony of a five-day long training titled "Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI)" in Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) here yesterday afternoon.
 
Public Health Improvement Initiative Rajshahi (PHIIR) project of DASCOH Foundation organized the training at seminar hall of ward number 11 of the tertiary hospital supported by the Swiss Red Cross.

Main objective of the training was to prepare resource pools to contribute to the fields of reducing the death rate of maternal, neonatal and child through continuing IMCI training.
 
Contributing to achieve the SDG-3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and ensuring referral systems were the allied objectives of the course.
 
All the senior and junior teachers and doctors of the Department of Pediatrics of RMCH and Rajshahi Medical College joined the training.
 
Head of the Pediatrics Department Prof Belal Uddin, Assistant Prof Dr Naznin Parvin and Consultant Dr Syeda Nasifa Islam conducted the sessions.
 
Divisional Director of Health Dr Habibul Ahsan Talukdar, RMCH Director Brig Gen Shameem Yeazdani, Pediatrics Department Head Prof Belal Uddin, Civil Surgeon Dr Abu Sayed Faruk and PHIIR Project Manager Tozammel Haque addressed the closing ceremony.

In his remarks, Dr Habibul Ahsan Talukdar said children brought for medical treatment coming from marginalized and other low-income families are often suffering from more than one condition.

At the first level of primary health care services, diagnostic supports such as laboratory and radiology services are commonly limited or non-existent.
 
He opined that WHO and UNICEF designed the IMCI strategy to improve access and quality of care for newborns and children in primary health care services aims at improving health worker skills, improving the health system and improving family and community practices.
 
Main thrust of the strategy is to strengthen prevention and management of common childhood illnesses, including in the newborn period, and support children's healthy growth and development.
 
As a whole, IMCI is imperative to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal target 3.2 of reducing child mortality to at least 25 or less deaths per 1000 live births by 2030.
 
The PHIIR Project is being implemented in five upazila health complexes, 42 UH&FWCs and 110 Community Clinics under Bagmara, Charghat and Tanore upazilas in Rajshahi and Porsha and Sapahar upazilas in Naogaon districts.
 
The project is intended to improve the health of the targeted population with special focus on maternal, neonatal and child health at primary health care level.