Project News

It is important to identify disability and developmental delay early and provide children and their family with early intervention. It prevents deuteropathy and helps children to acquire life skills and prepare for social participation. It also supports parents who worry about child rearing.

Maternal and Child Health Law in Japan requires implementation of infant physical examination (for between 18 and 24 months old, and 3 and 4 years old) and this contributes to the early identification and intervention. Today, each local government also sets more physical examinations for infants in other months/ages to check his/her height, weight, and development, to have a medical examination by doctor, a consultation by public health nurse, nutritionist and promotor of maternal and child health, and to advise on oral care by dental hygienist.

Family doctors in Mongolia also implement health check-up for infants by following Maternal Child Health Handbook; however, there is no infant physical examination for certain months/ages similar to what is implemented in Japan. Therefore, the Project put the examination for 18-month-old children into practice as a pilot activity in Bayangol District (the Project's model district).

Prior to the pilot activity, the Project Team discussed with Bayangol Health Center and drafted a medical interview sheet. Training for 109 family doctors in charge of the examination was also conducted, and the drafted medical interview sheet was reviewed and revised.

Based on such preparation, the first physical examination for 18-month-old children in Mongolia was conducted at four family clinics in Bayangol District from May 8-12, 2017. Throughout 5 days, 377 children attended, it is approximately 86.3 % of expected target children.

One of the mothers whose child attended the examination commented on the interview as follows:

We don't know whether my son achieves developmental milestones of 18-month-old or not. Of course, we could ask some questions on his health condition to family doctor regularly, however, we couldn't ask about his development. (Through the infant physical examination this time,) we could obtain answers to many questions regarding child development.

The physical examination for 18-month-old children has been continuously conducted by great efforts of Bayangol District Health Center and family doctors on the forth Wednesday and Thursday of each month. Currently, Maternal Child Health Law including infant physical examination is being discussed to be established in Mongolia. The project continues to support the trial examination in Bayangol District and will verify the effective and efficient way of implementation.

From October 2017, follow-up activity for children with developmental delay and their family, namely "Parent and child class" will start. To support parents who worry about child rearing, the Project Team is preparing for the class.

Opening ceremony of the first infant physical examination

During the examination