CARE Canada

Published purpose

The project is developing the capacity of the Zambian Ministry of Health to provide health care services to children under five years of age. The project is helping to strengthen health systems by working at the national, service delivery and community levels in eight districts, located in Central, Northern and Luapula provinces, using the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) approach. IMCI is a holistic method of addressing child health developed by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). IMCI-trained workers take the time to check if a child may be suffering from more than one illness, and try to prevent illness by improving nutrition, immunization and hygiene. IMCI consists of three components: (1) improving case management skills of health care staff; (2) improving health systems overall; and (3) improving family and community health practices.