O-czommendations
1.
Maintain a maternal
and child health section
in the Public Health
Department for promotion of maternal and child health activities at all
levels of health care.
Coordinate
an
immunization
system
with
the
communicable
disease
section that maintains adequate services in all atolls.
Implement
a family planning/child spacing program in
a culturally
acceptable manner.
Identify and upgrade the skills of the traditional birth attendants who
are currently active.
Encourage wider use and understanding of prenatal and postnatal clinic
visits.
Institute the use of a "Road to Health" card system for the under-5
population for better monitoring of growth and record keeping e.g.
immunizations (sample included in Appendix K).
Encourage
legislation
that
requires
complete
immunization
before
school entry is permitted.
Strengthen health screening and educational activities in primary and
secondary schools.
Promote nutrition education in the mother and child population.
3.
Communicable Diseases
Services with respect to communicable diseases are rendered in
various components of health care.
Those diseases spread by improper
sanitation and hygiene are discussed under the section of environmental
health.
Other communicable diseases are discussed in connection with
social problems.
A number of communicable diseases can be prevented or
reduced through an effective immunization program.
A comprehensive immunization program is essential to maintaining a
healthy outer island population.
In the past, these immunizations were
administered by personnel on the field ships.
They were delivered at
whatever interval such scheduling required, and were only effective in
reaching the few children who were within easy reach.
In the past year,
immunization rates have fallen from 80% to about 19% in the under-2 year
olds.
To deliver adequate viable protection to the population at large
is a very difficult task.
This is especially so when the distances are
so great, the population widely diversified, and cold chain maintenance
so difficult.