STATEMENT BY THE CITY’S MAYORAL COMMITTEE MEMBER FOR HEALTH, COUNCILLOR SIYABULELA MAMKELI

As we mark national Child Protection Week, I want to challenge parents and caregivers to prioritise child health as a central aspect of child protection.

While children have a right to personal safety and a safe environment, this is of little consequence if their health is compromised.

The public health service offers a number of safeguards to build resilience in children, but still there are children who miss out on these opportunities for improved health and well-being.

South Africa follows the World Health Organisation’s vaccination guidelines, which means vaccinations that provide protection against diseases like polio, measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus, meningitis, pneumonia, hepatitis, and rotavirus (which causes diarrhoea and tuberculosis). These vaccinations are administered in the first year of a child’s life.

We, along with the Western Cape Health Department, are able to gauge progress using the national population register for the number of children under the age of one in a particular year and the number of vaccinations administered in the public health service. For the period July 2015 to March 2016, the immunisation coverage is 87% – down from 89% during the same period in the previous year.

These figures do not take into account the private sector, but I’m still not convinced that we’re reaching all of the children who would fall under the public health umbrella. The importance of immunisation cannot be overstated. An unvaccinated child is at risk of preventable diseases, but also poses a risk to other children in their environment. We need to protect the health of all children and so I appeal to parents to get their children’s vaccinations up to date.

Vitamin A supplementation is also critical to child health. Children under the age of five must receive two doses of Vitamin A six months apart each year to aid their growth and help combat disease. Vitamin A deficiency makes children more susceptible to measles, diarrhoea, etc. We have seen an improvement in the number of children presenting at our facilities, but we can still do better.

Child health doesn’t happen after birth. It starts during pregnancy and I am heartened by the number of expectant mothers who are signing up for our Basic Antenatal Care Programme. The programme advocates that women enrol before they are 20 weeks pregnant as this helps identify and mitigate any problems that may have an impact on the health of their unborn baby.

We have also started a series of workshops within the City as part of a First 1 000 Days Campaign. The first 1 000 days is the period from conception to two years of age. What happens during this period in a child’s life has a profound impact on their future. Good nutrition, good parenting, a safe environment, reduction in maternal stressors, and early stimulation are critical during this phase of rapid growth, development and wiring of the brain and can prevent lost potential in children.

We have already engaged nearly 150 health staff to become champions for the cause and raise the level of education and awareness. I challenge parents, caregivers and communities to join us by ensuring regular clinic visits and health checks for the protection of our children.