Health - Alasthemovement.org

2.7 million children have never attended school: 2,700,000 children in Latin America and the Caribbean have never attended school and, on average, 27% of children drop out of school before completing elementary school.

THE ISSUES

The Issues >

Early Childhood Development

Education

Nutrition

Health

CHILD SURVIVAL AND CHILD HEALTH AGENDAS ARE INDIVISIBLE FROM EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT (ECD)

A healthy start in life gives each child an equal chance to thrive and grow into an adult who makes a positive contribution to the community, both economically and socially. Much of the burden of disease worldwide begins in early childhood. ECD incorporates health-promoting measures such as good nutrition, immunization, nurturance, participation, care, stimulation, and protection. ECD offers the prospect of sustained improvements in physical, social, emotional, language, and cognitive development, while simultaneously reducing the immediate and future burden of disease, especially for those who are most vulnerable and disadvantaged.

PROMOTING ECD THROUGH THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEMS WILL IMPROVE CHILD SURVIVAL RATES
In the early years, the health care system has a pivotal role to play and can serve as a gateway to other early childhood services since they serve as both first and primary contact for child-bearing mothers. In many instances, health care providers are the only health professionals whom families have contact with in the early years of the child’s life; therefore, health care professionals can be highly effective in promoting ECD programs to a majority of parents and children in a community.

Family health conditions have a particularly strong impact on development. Any chronic problem, either physical or mental (especially of the mother or primary caregiver), and chronic illness, can have a deleterious effect on child development.To be effective, services at all levels need to work with families and the local community for proper identification and treatment of childhood illnesses within a variety of settings, including homes and health facilities. It is also important to provide counseling for parents and caregivers, and referral services for severely ill children. Family-friendly policies clearly benefit children and families, but they also result in economic benefits to the larger society. Societies that invest in children and families in the early years, rich or poor, have the most literate and numerate populations. These are the societies that have the best health status and lowest levels of health inequality in the world.

VACCINATION / IMMUNIZATION
Disease prevention is a major component of reducing child mortality, and immunization is a proven tool for controlling and even eradicating disease. Yet there are over 1.2 million children in Latin American who do not receive routine vaccinations before their first birthday. Vaccinating children interrupts transmission of disease to the rest of the population, such as Pneumococcus, the bacteria responsible for lethal diseases like pneumonia and meningitis, and otitis, which causes deafness. In Latin America alone, every hour two children die, and each year 1.6 million people develop diseases caused by this bacterium.

Immunization is considered among the most cost-effective health investments as there is a well-defined target group, contact with the health system is only needed at the time of delivery, and vaccination does not require any major change of lifestyle. In the United States, cost-benefit analysis indicates that every dollar invested in a vaccine dose saves up to $27 in health care expenses. Immunization visits are also viewed as an opportunity to distribute information about ECD programs and infant health to parents. The importance of universal immunization programs, both in terms of reducing childhood disease and providing opportunities for additional early childhood interventions, should not be underestimated.