Luena – The Ministry of Health (MINSA) redoubles integrated attention to childhood illnesses, with training of health professionals in the province of Moxico, with a view to reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR).
The training action, starting this Tuesday, in Luena, that will last for 10 days, is being addressed to 30 health professionals, including doctors and nurses, to improve procedures in the areas of childcare, child monitoring, Extended Program of Vaccination (PAV) and nutrition.
According to MINSA's instructor, Maria Afonso, the training aims to update professionals in the area on procedures in health units, improving medical and medication assistance for children, with the aim of reducing the IMR.
The director of the Health Office in Moxico, Tiago Mário, said that one of the areas that will be deepened will be the problem of malnutrition, mainly in the screening component, to assess the degree of the disease.
Among various topics, breastfeeding, child nutrition, growth and development curve, return consultation, identification and classification of HIV-AIDS will dominate the training action.
In Angola, Integrated Management of Childhood (IMCI) was first implemented in the early 1990s and is structured according to three components recommended by the WHO, namely, improving the skills of health professionals, improving the service delivery of the health system and improving practices of families and the community.
The IMCI is an integrated approach to the survival, growth and development of children, which aims to reduce mortality in children under 5 years of age, with data on its usefulness based on the best available evidence.
According to the National Statistics Institute, the province of Moxico has more than a million inhabitants, with a further 163 thousand being under 5 years old. MT/TC/YD/CF/DOJ
