Project News

The Partnership Project for Global Health and Universal Health Coverage (GLO+UHC) organized a parallel session "Universal Health Coverage for Children: Building a brighter future in which every child thrive" on 14 December 2018 at the 11th International Conference on Maternal and Child Health Handbook at Montien Riverside Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand.

It was a great honor of presence of Dr Royal Highness Princess Akishino of Japan at the session and we greatly appreciated her strong commitment to issues related to maternal and child health in Thailand and Japan.

The purpose of the parallel session was to introduce Thailand and Japan thematic papers on maternal and child health which Universal Coverage for Children and Mothers (U4C) Working Team under our project had tried to summaries selected MCH experiences in the context of UHC, with cooperation of UNICEF and Japan National Center for Child Health and Development. This event was the first opportunity to share the papers in public and receive suggestions widely about the papers from people who work in the field of maternal and child health.

After Mr. Tomoya Yoshida, JICA MCH Taskforce Head opened the session, Dr. Rintaro Mori, Professor, Health Policy for Children and Families, Kyoto University had a keynote speech. He pointed out that addressing children and the aged population at the same time led to the situation that we could live together and make our populations healthier. He also explained the overview of Sustainable Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being and population aging asked us to change our mindset to achieve sustainable social and healthcare system. He also stressed the importance of providing prevention means based on individual needs and empowering people or making healthier choices and utilizing health records for such purposes.

Following the keynote speech, Prof. Siraporn Sawasdivorn, U4C Chair and Senior Advisor of Queen Sirikit Hospital introduced the background and overview of the development of Thai thematic papers. She stated it was critical not only look at services but also other health system components such as health workforce and financial protection for achieving success. Then, Ms. Kaori Nakatani, Coordination Specialist of GLO+UHC project explained the background and overview of the development of Japanese thematic papers.

Then, we had a panel discussion about how to better conduct future knowledge sharing and support to other counties chaired by Ms. Keiko Osaki, JICA Senior Advisor on Health. Ms. Netnapis Suchonwanich, Advisor of Health Intervention and Technology Assessment Program and former Deputy Secretary General of NHSO Thailand shared her experiences related to online birth registry, birth defect registry and national antidote program and some important lessons learned to share with other countries. Dr. Myint Myint Than, Director (Child Health) Department of Public Health, Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports also shared her experiences related to the background and current challenges of MCH handbook in Myanmar. The participants of the session actively engaged in the discussion and exchanged ideas about how to improve maternal and child health from various angles in the context of SDG and UHC. Dr. Punpimon Vipulakorn, Director General Department of Health, Thailand Ministry of Public Health closed the session by addressing the notion of "No one left behind" and emphasizing the importance of policies and the strong commitment to improving maternal and child health.

This session provided an excellent opportunity for Children and Mothers (U4C) Working Team of GLO+UHC not only to share their thematic papers but also stimulate interest for the papers from the audience of the session for future technical assistance.

Thematic paper on maternal and child health
Link:

• Learning by sharing: Japan's experiences in women's and children's health and clinical care
• Maternal and child health: benefit package under the Thai universal health coverage

Thailand

1. Maternal and Child Health: Benefit package under the Thai Universal Health Coverage
2. Thailand's Experiences in Elimination of Mother-to-Child Transmission (EMCT) of HIV
3. Thalassemia prevention and control in Thailand
4. Control and Prevention of Iodine Deficiency Disorders in Thailand
5. Thai Birth Defects Registry
6. Online Birth registry in Thailand
7. National Antidote Project in Thailand
8. Save Our Children's Sight from Refractive Error
9. Combating Congenital Hypothyroidism and Monitoring Center

Japan
Learning by sharing: Japan's experiences in women's and children's health and clinical care

1. Water service and infant diarrhea
2. Maternal and child health checkup programs and the Maternal and Child Health Handbook
3. Newborn screening in Japan: more than 40 years of experience
4. Social welfare system for persons with disabilities and children in Japan
5. Health financing system for children
6. Reproductive Health/Rights and Family Planning in Contemporary Japan
7. Achieving excellent perinatal health with a moderate cesarean section rate
8. How Japan achieved one of the lowest neonatal mortality rates in the world
9. Maternal and Child Nutrition