The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health will commemorate the Women Month of August by reiterating its call on health workers, women, families and communities to implement steps to help breastfeeding mothers, women and girls to successfully and improve their health and chances of survival of newborns.
The department will during the month of August and beyond, implement the following programmes:
World Breastfeeding Week: 1 to 7 August
Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. It is safe, gives babies the nutrients they need for healthy development and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses.
The recently produced report by the children’s institute of the University of Cape Town titled: South African Child Gauge 2009/10, reports that; “The Integrated Nutrition Programme (INP) has been successful in reducing stunting in children, but increases in vitamin A deficiency, extremely low rates of exclusive breastfeeding, and poor management of severe malnutrition in children are causes for concern.”
Throughout the province, health care workers will be conducting health education on the importance of breast milk to babies and check immunisation cards for missed opportunities. Mothers and care givers will be educated on the ten steps to successful breastfeeding that were developed by World Health Organisation and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to ensure maternity services are providing the right start for every infant and the necessary support for mothers to breastfeed.
For more information on events, please contact Siduduzo Myeza on 083 207 8749
MEC to address the specialists network AGM: 2 August 2010
The MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, will today address the KwaZulu-Natal Specialist Network which is a networking organisation of health care specialists in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Its aim is to bring together specialists of various fields to share experiences and knowledge with an aim of improving their contribution in the delivery of health care.
The stated organisational aim (in the website) is; “The days of practising alone are gone and there is an urgent need to form an umbrella body to unite all specialists to counter threats and to be prepared for the future.”
The details are as follows:
Date: 2 August 2010 (Monday)
Time: 18h15
Venue: Hillton Hotel, Durban, Ballroom 1
For further details on the KZN Specialist Network, please contact Saloshni on 0822597357
Handover of cervical cancer screening equipment: 6 August 2010, Imbizo Hall, Empangeni
A non-governmental organisation, BroadReach, funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID); will be handing over cancer screening equipment to the department in support of the department’s campaign against cervical cancers. The MEC for Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, will receive the equipment at a function to be held as follows:
Date : 6 August 2010
Time : 9h15
Venue :Imbizo hall, Empangeni
Journalists are invited to these activities. For more information contact:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 285 0567
Desmond Motha
Cell: 083 295 3901
For more information contact:
Chris Maxon
Cell: 083 285 0567
