JICA Maternal and Child Health Handbook Seminar

On May 30, 2024 Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Handbook seminar was organized by JICA Pakistan Office in Hillview Hotel Islamabad. The objective of the seminar was to share JICA’s experience on MCH handbook in countries such as Ghana and Palestine; to share Family Health book (FHB) utilization in KP province under JICA ongoing technical assistance project and to create opportunities for collaboration on FHB with multiple stakeholders.

The seminar was attended by Mr. Naoaki Miyata, Chief Representative, JICA Pakistan office, Dr. Akiko Hagiwara, JICA HQ Senior Advisor on Health, Health Ministry and Department representative from Federal, Provincial, District government officers, development partners, academia, professional bodies and NGOs in Health Sector.

MCH handbook is a tool that Japan has introduced to the world. Among 50 countries where MCH Handbook is utilized in their public health systems, JICA assisted more than 34 countries for technical advisory and implementation. The MCH handbook is a communication tool between family and health workers, between family members, and for recording the health of mother and child from early pregnancy to infancy. It also promotes to ensure the continuum of care in the first 1000 days of life, including antenatal check-up, delivery with skilled birth attendant, postnatal check-up, routine immunization and growth monitoring.

Dr. Hagiwara has an extensive experience to implement, expand, institutionalize the MCH handbook in many countries including Palestine, Ghana and Sierra Leone. She shared experiences on how MCH booklets improved continuum of care, family awareness, male involvement and checkups attendance, and participants attentively listened to her story.

Under the JICA Pakistan technical assistance MCH project in KP, FHB has been utilized to facilitate communication between patients and health workers and to promote coordination among different programs. Health department KP and project staff shared the details of project activities with an emphasis on the utilization of FHB. During the Q&A session, participants expressed their willingness for collaborative work to achieve significant advancements in maternal and neonatal health in Pakistan.

For more information about MCH handbook and continuum of care,
https://www.jica.go.jp/activities/issues/health/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2023/11/27/202310_1.pdf
https://www.jica.go.jp/Resource/project/ghana/010/materials/index.html