New plan on mother and child health ensures that every child has the best start in life - 9.03.2012
The plan is an integral part of the National Health Strategy of Georgia
The Master Plan stems out of the Georgia National Health Care Strategy 2011-2015. Aiming at strengthening the perinatal system in Georgia for the next 10-15 years, the document directly responds to one of the objectives of the strategy (Access to quality maternal and child health services) and ensures that every child has the best possible start in life. “During the last five years, child mortality in Georgia has been reduced by 2/3.”, said Mr Andrew Urushadze, Minister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia. “Death of each child is a tragedy not only for one specific family, but for the whole country. That is why we developed the new Strategic Plan to maximally avoid mistakes by medical personnel.” Minister added. The Master Plan identifies the key areas of work, lists them in a conceptually logical order and
“Considerable progress has been achieved in Georgia over the last couple of years to reduce child and maternal mortality. I would like to appreciate the efforts of the Government of Georgia in this regard and also to thank medical experts from the Israeli Sheba Clinic for their tremendous support in development of the Perinatal System Master Plan”, said Roeland Monasch, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. “However, there are still challenges and we hope that the Master Plan will help to ensure that all pregnant women and children have access to quality maternity, neonatal and general pediatric care and that health providers dealing with maternal and child health at different levels have enough experience and skills to provide such quality care. UNICEF will continue to work with the Government of Georgia to further improve prenatal and neonatal health care and to implement the Master Plan”, added Monasch. Nearly, 58 per cent of all child deaths in Georgia occur within the first 28 days after birth. The main causes are prematurity, asphyxia and infections/pneumonia, together comprising more than three- quarters of neonatal deaths. These causes are closely related to the health of the mother during her pregnancy, the circumstances of her delivery and the first critical hours after birth. Much of the morbidity and mortality among children in Georgia is preventable.
Sophio Gvalia, Head of the Press office of the Ministry of Labour, Maya Kurtsikidze, Communication Officer, UNICEF Georgia
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