Spa Day: Providing care to indigenous children in Johor
Mobile Health Clinics offer more than healthcare to Indigenous Children in Johor
Mobile clinics that serve indigenous communities in Johor often do much more for children than treating illness. As witnessed by the UNICEF team during a visit in June, 2023 - the dedicated healthcare workers also provide hair treatment, eye & teeth checks, and so much more to ensure the children in these remote communities can live their best life.
The trip to Mersing, Johor, one of many eye-opening visits the team undertook this year, was part of a documentation of the assistance provided by the Government of Japan supported by UNICEF to selected health initiatives led by the Ministry of Health.*
The activities seen in this photo story, were conducted by the Mersing District Health Office (PKD) during a mobile health clinic programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Peta in Endau, Mersing. The mobile health clinic included mother and baby clinics, dental care, healthy cooking workshops, physical check-ups, and awareness campaigns on mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria.
The journey via a small dirt road showed the team just how difficult it is to reach some indigenous communities with necessary assistance. It also demonstrated the determination and efficiency of the PKD team to make the trip for these children and their families.
The mobile health clinics conducted the usual, necessary checks for mothers and babies to ensure both were healthy. Growth milestones such as weight and size are important to take note of especially in communities where adequate nutrition may be a challenge.
However, the mobile clinic team did much more. From dental check-ups to awareness raising on malaria and other mosquito borne diseases, the day was packed with invaluable assistance to the community to safeguard children's health.
For the past months, UNICEF was on the ground with Ministry of Health officials to witness and document delivered equipment to health facilities in hard-to-reach areas throughout the country including Sarawak, Sabah and Johor. This is part of collaboration between UNICEF and Ministry of Health under the Government of Japan’s Last One Mile Support grant.
Equipment worth USD1.1 million (RM5.04 million) was successfully delivered, including 13 units of Toyota Hilux 2.8 Rogue Diesel, 125 vaccine carriers, 100 defibrillators (AED), 20 vital sign monitors, 100 multi-purpose emergency backpacks, 100 Pelican Protector Cases, 175 laptops and thousands of examination gloves to multiple locations throughout the country.
