Directorate: Child and Youth Health

Organogram

Background Information of Directorate

The Directorate: Child and Youth Health was established in 1999. It consists of 4 Sub-directorate namely: Child Health, Youth & Adolescent Health, the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), and the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, Treatment and Support Plan.

Contact details:

Director: Child & Youth Health
Ms D Ray Mohlabi
Room 1521, Hallmark Building
Tel: (012) 312 0199 / 0330
Fax: (012) 312 3109
E-mail: klerkh@health.gov.za

Deputy Director: Youth & Adolescent Health
Ms Lindiwe Dladla
Room 1515, Hallmark Building
Tel: (012) 312 0198
Fax: (012) 312 3109
E-mail: dladla@health.gov.za

Deputy Director: Expanded Programme on Immunisation
Mr Johann van den Heever
Room 1628, Hallmark Building
Tel: (012) 312 3174
Fax: (012) 312 3110
E-mail: heever@health.gov.za

Deputy Director: Comprehensive Hiv and Aids Care, Management, Treatment and Support Plan for Children
Ms Ntombi Mazibuko
Room 1513, Hallmark Building
Tel: (012) 312 0213
Fax: (012) 312 3109
E-mail: mazibs@health.gov.za

Information Officer
Ms M Vermeulen
Room 1524, Hallmark Building
Tel: (012) 312 0210
Fax: (012) 312 3109
E-mail: vermem@health.gov.za

Strategic Planning

Sub-directorate: Child Health

Goal: To improve the health status of all children from birth to 18 years of age in all provinces by reducing child morbidity and mortality.

• Implementation of the National Programme of Action for children in South Africa (NPA);
• Decrease morbidity and mortality rates in neonates;
• Implementation of all three components of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) at provincial and district level;
• Consolidate the research that has been done on IMCI, and commission relevant operational research;
• Determine key indicators for full implementation of IMCI (national and provincial);
• Address Early Childhood Development (ECD) within the IMCI strategy in all nine provinces;
• Decrease prevalence of soil transmitted helminth control and bilharziasis in children aged less that 5 years, and in school aged children;
• Improve the quality of paediatric care at first level referral hospitals;
• Facilitate the implementation of the School Health policy and Implementation Guidelines within the Health Promoting Schools Initiative (HPSI);
• Address the needs of all children in especially difficult circumstances.

Sub-directorate: Youth & Adolescent Health

Goal: To improve access to information and services by youth and adolescent in the health service.

• Translate the popular version of the Youth and Adolescenth Health Policy Guidelines into all 9 languages
• Collaborate and participate in youth activities inter-sectorally with other directorates / departments and other partners on youth and adolescent health issues;
• Re-orientation and sensitization of health workers to youth friendly health services;
• Finalisation and dissemination of the National Strategy on the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy;
• Purchase, produce and disseminate identified Behaviour Change and Communication material on STIs, HIV and AIDS, and Teenage Pregnancy;
• Develop and finalise health regulations on traditional circumcision.

Sub-directorate: Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI)

Goal: To provide a National EPI programme for prevention and control of vaccine preventable childhood diseases.

• Effective and efficient management of:
  • National EPI disease surveillance
    • Facilitate, Support, Monitor and Evaluate Integrated EPI Surveillance in provinces (monitor by health districts)
      • Establish and maintain an Integrated Disease Surveillance System (including zero reporting)
      • Monitoring of surveillance sites in each province
      • Monitor indicence / patterns / trends of EPI diseases (morbidity and mortality profiles)
      • Support provinces with outbreak response for EPI diseases
    • Facilitate, support, monitor and evaluate reaching of WHO surveillance criteria of the EPI target conditions in each province
      • AFP Polio eradication
      • Measles elimination
      • Maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination
    • Support surveillance and disease control activities regarding other vaccine preventable conditions (Hib disease, Hepatitis B, Diptheria, Pertussis & Childhood TB)
• National health data / information regarding EPI
  • Update / maintain / provide support re necessary demographic data / information
  • Facilitate and support GIS and mapping
  • Optimize and sustain effectiveness and efficiency of routine EPI information as well as surveillance systems
  • Optimize and sustain the quality of data / information in the routine information as well as surveillance systems
  • Develop and maintain a practical, sustainable reporting and feedback system for EPI routine and other data / information
• Immunisation services, strategies and clinical practices
  • Adverse events : Proper handling and investigation, including autopsies
  • Increase routine immunisation coverage
  • Clinical practices : Conduct training on clinical practices and AEFI
  • Training in all areas of EPI; surveillance, social mobilisation & communication, Cold Chain and Clinical practice
  • EPI reviews in provinces
    • Plan the reviews, conduct pre-review survey and conduct review in provinces
• EPI vaccines
  • Logistics and wastage
  • Cold chain management
  • Waste management
• Advocacy, communication and social mobilisation re EPI
  • Facilitate the development of social mobilisation strategies by provinces
  • Facilitate and support provincial and national EPI and Child Health Awareness and Health Promotion events
  • Conduct Immunisation Awareness Campaigns: Follow up to the “Polio Free Countdown” and Immunisation Awareness Week
  • Participated in the necessary DoH activities for the “Final Polio Ride” conducted by Polio Plus
  • Monitoring of social mobilisation activities conducted by provinces and districts
  • Ensure and monitor the use of EPI promotional material and disseminated information by provinces.

Sub-directorate: Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, Treatement and Support Plan for children

Goal: To improve the health status of all children infected and/or affected by HIV and AIDS in all provinces by reducing child morbidity and mortality.

• Improve management of communicabler disease and non-communicable illnesses
  • Accelerate implementation of the Comprehensive Plan
  • Update and disseminate IMCI training manuals to include the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, Treatment and Support plan for children
• To promote healthy lifestyles
  • Implement activities and interventions to improve key family practices that impact on child health
  • Initiate and maintain healthy lifestyle campaigns for children infected and / or exposed to HIV and AIDS in all provinces
  • Develop and disseminate IEC materials on the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, Treatment and Support Plan for children
• Strengthen Primary Health Care
  • Ensure that primary health care facilities that are implementing IMCI have at least one health care provider trained and updated on the Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management, Treatment and Support Plan for children
  • Finalise and distribute guidelines for the management of HIV infected children to all provinces

Databases

ACCESS database are used to capture data and information of AFP, measles, NNT and AEFI. DHIS and ARCVIEW are used to do mapping and the reports for further processing and distribution. Dr D Kibuuka, Assistant Director: Data Manager manages these databases.

Publications

• Cold Chain Manual
• Disease Surveillance Manual
• Vaccinators Manual
• Technical Guidelines
• Various pamphlets on Immunisation
• School Health policy and Implementation Guidelines
• Youth & Adolescent Health Policy Guidelines
• Draft National Guidelines on Epidemic Preparedness and Response
• Regular Treatment of School-Going Children for Soil-Transmitted Helminth Infections and Bilharzia: Policy and Implementation Guidelines

The following IMCI training material

• Introduction
• Assess and Classify
  • Management of the Sick Young Infant aged 1 week up tot 2 months
  • Assess and Claasify the sick child aged 2 months up to 5 years
• Counsel the mother
• Identify treatment & Treat the child
• To take home booklet
• Follow-up
• Exercise
• Chart Booklet
• Training video

Links to Provincial Offices

Contact details: