HE Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah, announced today that after studying available medical records relating to pregnancy and newborns dating back many years, the Ministry has set the issue of safeguarding maternal and child health as one of its highest priorities. HE also added that the Ministry's dedication towards its new Mother and Child Health Passport Project is in alignment with the World Health Organization’s concern with this vital issue worldwide.
During today’s launch of the Mother and Child Health Passport Project at the Ministry's Divan, Dr. Al Rabeeah said that this nationwide initiative will achieve the Ministry's goals of providing necessary follow-up care for both mother and child by monitoring the mother's health condition during pregnancy and the child's subsequent health progress until the age of six. The program will also reduce both maternal and infant mortality rates.
The first phase of this project will be implemented on Monday 14-3-2011 in all of the Ministry's primary healthcare centers throughout Kingdom. The second phase will cover the rest of the Kingdom's healthcare sectors through the Health Services Council.
Deputy Minister Assistant of Curative Medicine, Dr. Ageel Al Gamdi, said during his speech at the opening that the Ministry of Health is highly committed to providing high-quality health services Kingdomwide, based on international healthcare standards. The Ministry also cooperates with the private sector as part of its healthcare development strategic plan.
According to Dr. Al Gamdi, the Health Passport Project is considered one of the most important initiatives linking the Ministry with the private sector to provide superior health services. "We are honored today to officially launch the Health Passport Project in cooperation with Johnson & Johnson Company as a result of the Ministry's continuous efforts over the last two years,” Dr. Al Gamdi stated. “Such an important step will boost the level of cooperation between primary healthcare services and prenatal and postnatal domestic healthcare services."
He also explained that the Health Passport is considered a comprehensive health program which aims to upgrade the follow-up care of both mother and child by monitoring the mother's health condition during pregnancy and the child's subsequent health progress until the age of five.
It is also designed to track prenatal and postnatal healthcare services, reduce consumer costs, allow for early disease diagnosis, implement an effective referral system and facilitate medical appointment scheduling.
A health information database will also be included, and staff development components will provide ongoing training for health services employees to teach pregnant women how to monitor their children’s health and prevent disease and household injuries.