Health is life
Every child’s right to survive, grow and thrive
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Every child deserves the best start in life
Every year, too many children in Europe and Central Asia are denied their right to essential healthcare, nutrition and development support.
- In 2022, 28,000 children under-five died, half of whom died in their first month of life, with children from marginalized communities overrepresented in these deaths
- Routine immunization rates are yet to recover to pre-pandemic levels and 2024 saw the highest number of measles cases in more than 25 years
- The region has one of the world’s lowest breastfeeding rates and stunting remains a risk
- 1 in 4 children do not receive the care and early stimulation they need from their caregivers leaving them vulnerable to developmental delays, neglect and poor outcomes
Despite huge progress in reducing child mortality and expanding health coverage, too many children still do not have access to the quality, timely and adequate health services they need to thrive.
#HealthIsLife is a call to action for stronger community health care and support for families, no matter where they live, or where they come from.
The power of community health workers
Community health workers are the frontline of child health- they provide lifesaving care, build trust and can reach even the hardest-to-reach children with essential services.
They bring healthcare to families where they are – whether in remote villages, conflict zones or urban neighborhoods with limited access to doctors and hospitals.
They vaccinate children, support new mothers with breastfeeding, and monitor child growth and development - all while building strong relationships with the families that they support.
They are trusted voices in their communities, providing parents with acute, science-backed information on immunization, breastfeeding and child development.
Investing in community health workers means stronger, more resilient health systems and healthier futures for children.
Our goal is to secure every child’s right to survive, grow and thrive
By 2030 all young children will be reached with essential health, nutrition, and development interventions through primary health care, including community health.
What needs to happen
- Increase national investments in primary healthcare, including funding for community health workers
- Ensure all families - especially those in marginalized communities – have access to quality and timely health services
- Connect all parents and caregivers with trusted community health workers to provide essential services and science based public health information on immunization and breastfeeding
For parents and caregivers
For healthcare workers
- Share your experience as a health worker to help guide parents and caregivers through health systems and to find providers that they trust
- Connect with other health workers who may be skeptical about vaccinations and exclusive breastfeeding – empower each other with science-back information
- Call on your government for greater investment in your workforce
For governments and decision makers
- Strengthen investments in primary healthcare including greater investments in staff numbers and training
- Support the development of adequate and strong community health systems to reach the most vulnerable children and families, including through home visiting at scale and the timely identification of children at risk
- Introduce policy to deliver integrated developmental monitoring, breastfeeding and immunization into the essential packages of primary health care services.
No child should have to go without the healthcare they need. With the right resources, in the right places, at the right time- every child can survive, grow and thrive.
Because health is life.
