Modalities
- Improving case management skills of healthcare providers at primary health facilities by providing an integrated assessment, diagnosis and treatment of common childhood illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and malnutrition.
- Ensure appropriate combined treatment of all major conditions that affect a young child.
- Health system strengthening to provide quality care by improving infrastructure, supplies, supervision and policies to ensure effective implementation of IMCI.
- Strengthening capacity of families and communities to prevent diseases, seek timely care from qualified healthcare providers, provide proper home care for sick children and promote children’s healthy growth and development.
- Community–based care supports community health workers in delivering essential care, health education and speeds up referrals for severely ill newborns and children.
Conditions and considerations
- The implementation of a national policy and standards promoting an integrated approach to child health and development.
- Periodic review and revision of IMCI clinical guidelines to align with the country’s epidemiology, available medicines and commodities, relevant policies and the local population’s foods and language.
- Continuous training, mentoring and support of supervision of health workers in integrated assessment, treatment and caregivers counselling in order to improve the quality of care in primary health facilities.
- Ensuring availability of the essential medicines, laboratory tests and key equipment for prevention and case management.
- Strengthening referral pathways and improving quality of care in hospitals for management of severely ill children referred from the outpatient clinics.