Note for the Frontline Workers
- If a child is provided with nurturing enviornment, his/her chances to survival and growth improve. It is the role of parents to provide their children with a nurturing enviornment that is sensitive to children's health and nutiritonal needs, provide protection from threats, offer opportunities for early learning, and allow interaction that are responsive, emotionally supportive and developmentally stimulating.
- The environment of a household plays a crucial role in child's health and development. Safe and secure structures of the house, adequate amount and type of food, and availability of books and play materials, all have a key role in a child's life.
- Equally if not more important are the social and psychological factors. The love and affection of elders and the early learning through play with siblings are critical. Together this nurturing care helps a child grow, learn and develop a positive personality.
- The Key Family Care Practices (KFCP) are commonly practiced behaviours at household level that impact the mother and child survival, and child's growth and development.
- Improving family and community practices is one of the 3 components of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI strategy) promoted by WHO and UNICEF since 1992. The 3 component are as follows:
- Improvement in the case management skills of health workers through provision of locally adapted guidelines on IMCI and through activities to promote their use.
- Improvement in the health system required for the effective management of childhood illness.
- Improvement in family and community practices.