Strategy and Plan of Action for Integrated Child Health

At the 28th Pan American Sanitary Conference, 64th Session of the Regional Committee of the World Health Organization for the Americas, held 17-21 September 2012 in Washington D.C., Member States approved the Strategy and Plan of Action for Integrated Child Health. The Strategy and Plan are an ongoing effort to support and expand the concept of integration of actions within health systems and services, and at the family and community levels in the Region.

This innovative Strategy and Plan of Action will promote a new approach to increase coverage and scale up actions in priority and high-impact countries using a multisectoral approach. This work will require that focused attention be paid to the crosscutting areas of socioeconomic equity, equity of access to health care with a focus on primary health care, gender, and cultural diversity. It must also take into consideration the provisions of the Convention of the Rights of the Child and other international human rights instruments applicable to the health of women and children. It will also strengthen social protection interventions throughout the life-course and increase access to a qualified cadre of human resources.