Medical care for children is a right - Asmah

Cape Coast Dec. 2, GNA - The Minister of Women and Children's Affairs, Mrs Gladys Asmah, on Monday stressed that medical care, including immunization was a basic right and not a privilege for children.

"It is clearly stated in the Children's Act 560 of 1998, that 'no person shall deprive a child access to education, immunization and adequate diet, clothing, shelter, medical attention any thing required for his/her development'," she said

Mrs Asmah stated this in a speech read for her at the launching of the first Central Regional Child Health Promotion Week, on the theme: "A strong and healthy child: the role of vitamin A."

The weeklong programme, to create awareness about the health of the child, includes activities like eye screening for school children, community durbars to herald the second polio immunisation day and the provision of vitamin A supplement in the region.

Mrs Asmah, advised parents to seek prompt prevention and curative care services for their children.

Touching on the theme, the Minister said it was an irony that although the country abounded in natural food items such as oil palm, mangoes, carrots, pawpaw, oranges and dark green vegetables, which contained Vitamin A, many children still suffered from vitamin A deficiency, giving rise to the need for supplementation.

She said there was the need to safeguard the health and future of children, stressing that of the children who did not live to their fifth birthday in the region, 43 per cent of them died as a result of protein-energy malnutrition and 34 per cent as a result of vitamin A deficiency.

The Minister, said such frightening statistics should ginger the people to adopt effective strategies that would help deal decisively with the problem and pointed out that nutritional well-being was a pre-requisite for the achievement of the full social, mental and physical potential of the population.

It was against this backdrop, she said, that government fully supported programmes aimed at improving the nutritional status, especially of mothers and children.

The Minister expressed concern about the illegal fee collections in health centres and appealed to health workers involved in the practice to consider both the legal implication and the suffering and sometimes premature death of innocent children.

She commended the Regional Directorate of Health Service for taking the bold decision to launch the Week, and urged it to consider initiating an annual Maternal Health Promotion Week.

The Minister commended all health workers in the country for their patriotism and sacrifice despite the limited resources and facilities.

Dr Henrietta Odoi-Agyarko, Deputy Director of Public Health, expressed concern about the high infant mortality rate in the region but was happy that the directorate "had taken the bull by the horns" by deciding to devote a week to promoting child health.

She urged nursing mothers to give their children vitamin A supplement since it played a key role in the prevention of common childhood ailments such as measles and pneumonia.

Dr Odoi-Agyarko suggested that the week's activities should include education on the importance of breastfeeding, use of insecticide treated bed nets, as well as appropriate home management for common childhood illnesses. The WHO representative in Ghana, Dr Melville George, in an address read for him, observed that although children were the future of the world, they had been often forgotten about.

According to him, 11 million children would die of malaria and other childhood diseases, throughout the world this year, before they reach the age of five and that it was estimated that 65,000, of the number would be in the country.

He advised that the week, should not only focus on vitamin A supplementation, but that it should also be used to provide integrated services, and make as many interventions as possible, available to children.

Dr Aaron Offei, Regional Director of Health Services, in his welcoming address, called on parents to do away with habits and practices that militate against the health of their children and called for proper environmental sanitation and good personal hygiene to help prevent childhood diseases.

One hundred and two pupils of the Philip Quaicoo Primary School, later had their eyes screened and 10 of them who had eye ailments from allergy, were referred to the hospital for treatment.