Health Minister Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim today urged the public to prioritise vaccination to protect against dangerous diseases in childhood.
In his address on the occasion of World Health Day, the Minister said that special attention should be paid to the health of both mothers and young children. He encouraged being attentive towards the mother's health and habits prior to conception, during pregnancy and postpartum as well as the child's health after being born.
Minister Nazim said important efforts are being made to educate health workers and parents to improve the nutritional status of children. Among them, is a policy called the 'Social Behaviour Change Communication Strategy' which he said is implemented to promote healthy lifestyles during the first 1,000 days of life.
The first 1,000 days, or first two years of a child's life, are when a child undergoes major physical and mental changes and the brain and senses develop and mature.
Nazim urged the public to use the "infant nutrition and recipes information" published under the strategy. He also said completing vaccines on time should be prioritised to protect children from dangerous diseases in childhood.
In his address, he highlighted that Maldives has significantly lowered its infant mortality rate after being among countries with the highest infant mortality rates during the 1990s in the region.
This is credited towards eliminating diseases like polio, malaria and filaria. Tetanus shots upon birth is also attributed with the elimination measles and small pox from the country.
WHO has also declared Maldives as country where mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis has been prevented and rubella and hepatitis-B have been completely controlled.
According to the government, efforts have also begun into maintaining care and treatment records of mothers and young children on platforms which are easy to update and upkeep. This includes an ongoing review of the national immunisation module and the child nutrition growth and development module portals which allow healthcare workers to easily access the information from a single network, the minister said.
According to Nazim, the country’s antenatal care (ANC) coverage, or proportion of people seeking appropriate treatment during pregnancy, has been maintained above 98 per cent as a result of regular maternal and infant health check-ups.
"These achievements have been achieved through many efforts. Access to basic healthcare needed by pregnant and postpartum mothers as well as their newborns have been arranged in all islands of Maldives," he said.
"It has been observed that pregnant women seek healthcare workers during pregnancy and receive the care in accordance with the standards of the World Health Organisation," he also said.
Ensuring that all services and information about mothers and young children from pregnancy onwards are available to healthcare facilities, is an important steps to protect the health of mothers and babies in the country, Nazim went on to say.
He also stressed that it is very important for both men and women to be healthy for fertility and that both couples should strive to maintain good health habits and strive to stay healthy for the safety of their child.