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Foreword from Dr Neil McKerrow

Head of Paediatrics, Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospitals Complex


"People don't live long enough in Africa to worry about cancer or the other diseases that concern us in the Western world. In Africa the big trick is to get to be five years old."

The above comment by Dr David French of the World Health Organisation has been reinforced by the latest mortality figures released by Statistics South Africa. These show that this province, KwaZulu-Natal, has the highest number of deaths in the country and that the majority of these occur in children below 5 years of age, and in young adults aged 30 - 35 years, the age-group producing and caring for children.

In light of this fact and the inadequate and inappropriate circumstances in which health care workers are required to care for our children this second edition of the Child Health Resource Package includes some exciting new components:

  • A new easy to use format
  • Improved and extended Quality Assurance Tools
  • Protocols for nursing care
  • More handbooks and national guidelines
  • Disease surveillance

This resource remains one of our contributions towards looking after the children in our province and an invitation to you to share in this task. We hope that it encourages you to join us and that together we can make a difference to the wellbeing of even one child.

After all, according to a Nigerian proverb:

"It takes a village to raise a child."

Please be a part of this village.
 
© 2007 Department of Paediatrics, Pietermaritzburg Metropolitan Hospitals Complex.