GOAL
The vision of the RCH is to contribute to the improvement in the health and quality of life of persons of reproductive age and beyond as well as children by providing high quality reproductive and child health services through:
- Preventive
- Curative`
- Promotional
- Rehabilitative services
OBJECTIVES OF RCH
The RCH seeks to contribute to improvement in the health of all children, adolescents and men and women of reproductive age by:
- providing access to accurate education and information on general reproductive and child health care
- providing access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning;
- providing access to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant;
- providing access to appropriate services that promote the survival, growth and development of all children and
- Providing access to health information and health services relevant to the age and gender specific needs of adolescents and young people to enable them make informed decisions.
SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF RCH
The main objective is to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality through:
- Provision of accessible maternal health services (ANC, Delivery and PNC)
- Health education on nutrition, family planning, STI prevention including HIV/AIDS, and danger signs of pregnancy to women especially pregnant women.
- Strengthening Adolescent Friendly Initiative In All Facilities/Institutions
- Improvement in quality, convenience and coverage of family planning services
- Provision of family planning services
- Support clients to develop birth preparedness and complication readiness plan
- Detect and treat all complications arising in pregnancy.
- Provide integrated services at child welfare clinics
- Improvement in DHIMS data through data verification and validation
RCH INTERVENTIONS IN THE MUNICIPALITY
The following are the general RCH services in the KEEA municipality.
COMPONENTS OF CHILD HEALTH
NEWBORN CARE SERVICES
- Neonatal resuscitation
- Breastfeeding
- Postnatal care services
- Infection prevention and control
- Kangaroo Mother Care
- Birth registration
CHILD WELFARE SERVICES
- Promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and timely introduction of complementary feeding
- Immunization
- Growth promotion and nutrition rehabilitation
- Curative care for minor ailments and injuries
SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICES
- Screening and examination of school children and food vendors
- Immunization
- Health education on current public health issues
- Management of minor ailments and injuries
- Maintenance of hygienic and safe school environment
- Referrals
ADOLESCENT HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT
- Identification and management of common health problems affecting adolescents
- Provision of adolescent focused services including counseling, information education and counseling (IE&C and reproductive health issues in general
- Referrals
THE COMPONENTS OF SAFE MOTHERHOOD
- Focused Ante-Natal integrated service
- Labour and delivery care
- Postnatal care
- Family planning
- Prevention and management of unsafe abortion
- Health education
- Prevention of Mother-to- Child Transmission of HIV/AIDS.
- Maternal & Neonatal Audit follow –up
However, as a municipality specific interventions such as the following has been implemented to improve on reproductive and child health outcomes.
- Monthly Family Planning Campaigns to boost acceptor rates
- Weekly supportive supervisory visit by district officers to the facilities
- Maternal and perinatal Death Audit
- Establishment of pregnancy schools in sub-district facilities
- Free simple medical screening “know your status” to increase HIV testing rate
- Improve team work at ART sites. All trained staff must get involved
- Operational research on “Factors contributing to low patronage of maternal health services” to be conducted in five facilities.
- In-service training on family planning and data capture
- Data verification and validation to improve DHIMS data
- Collaborate with partners to plan and implement adolescent health services (SBCC, FP, CAC)
- Revamping Adolescent club both in-school and out of school
- Assigned School Nurses to all the 3 second cycle institutions
PARTNERS SUPPORT for RCH INTERVENTIONS
- PPAG (2019) – Comprehensive Abortion Care and Adolescent Health
- International Needs (2018) – Adolescent Health (Child marriage and ASRHR)
- Theatre for Social Change (2021) – Adolescent Health
- ASHI (2018) – Adolescent Health
- Progressive Excellent Youth Org (PEYORG) – Adolescent Health and FP
