Programme Director
MEC Brian Hlongwa
Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni
Councillors
Health professionals
Ladies and gentlemen
Mothers, grand-mothers and children

It is a great privilege to participate in this important initiative aimed at making a significant contribution to the lives of our children. Over the past 14 years we have made significant progress in the provision of health services. We introduced free access to health services for children under five and pregnant and lactating women and more recently for people with disabilities. We introduced legislation that reduced the price of medicines by 20% on average, introduced food fortification, strengthened our implementation of the expanded immunisation programme and introduced vitamin A for infants, children and mothers.

Our immunisation coverage is currently 84%. While this is very impressive we can and should do better. There are pockets in some districts where our rates of immunisation are lower than the national average. As we launch this campaign today, we are targeting four million children throughout the country which translates to 80% of children between one and five years, utilising 15 000 sites which include clinics, crèches, mobile clinics, and shopping malls.

Under-nutrition, especially vitamin and mineral deficiencies, continues to represent challenges, particularly in rural and other underserved areas. In 2005 a National Food Consumption Survey among children aged one to nine years showed that vitamins and mineral deficiencies are still exist in parts of the country.

As one of the department's strategies to improve child health in 2002 we initiated a nation-wide vitamin A supplementation programme as one of the strategies to combat vitamin A deficiency in children six and 59 months old and postpartum women who utilise our public health facilities.

Vitamin A not only plays a role in preventing blindness but it is also vital for child survival. Death from measles can be reduced by 50 percent, death from diarrhoea can be reduced by 40 percent and overall mortality can be reduced by 25 percent with vitamin A supplementation. Thus by improving the vitamin A status of children we are increasing their chances of survival significantly.

However, for benefits to be achieved through supplementation, children between the ages of six and 59 months must be brought to the clinic every six months to receive their dose. Also mothers are given vitamin A immediately after giving birth to boost vitamin A stores of breast milk. We have excellent coverage of vitamin A supplementation for children between the ages of six and twelve months of age. Coverage for this age group is 100%. Coverage for post-partum mothers is encouraging at 60% but we can and will do better. Our challenge is the 13 to 60 month olds. For this group coverage is 25% and must improve. Children in this age group are at risk to suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

To reach more children in this age group, in particular I am launching a National Vitamin A Campaign starting today, 8 September until 20 September 2008. I wish to urge all parents and caregivers to take your children aged 13 to 60 months of age to our public health facilities for vitamin A drops. To increase access to vitamin A we have also arranged that designated schools, crèches, community halls and temporary posts in all nine provinces will also provide this service for the period of the national campaign.

Clearly no single strategy is sufficient to address micronutrient deficiencies. Government continues to promote and support the establishment of community and school vegetable gardens in order to increase consumption of nutrient rich foods. We are also aware that the recent increases in food prices has resulted in families purchasing the bare essentials with the result that many families may not always be able to meet their nutrient needs. It is vital that vulnerable families be assisted to establish food gardens or become members of communes and co-operatives. In addition I encourage everyone to ensure that we eat healthily including maize meal that is fortified.

Given that September is Heritage month we need to remind ourselves of the traditional methods of producing, processing and storing foods. Our indigenous foods such imifino, amadumbe and mopane worms are rich in nutrients and this need to be promoted. We would also like to encourage people to consume raw vegetables and fruits whenever possible, since over-cooking destroys most nutrients. Cooking also encourages people to add fats and sugars. In a country where obesity and being overweight are growing challenges we surely cannot continue with this unhealthy practice.

We should also start promoting healthy eating to our children at an early age and schools should be discouraged from selling energy dense foods to children, such as fat cakes, chips and sweetened fizzy drinks. In addition we should ensure that our children become physically more active. We all need to work together to promote the health of our children.

Finally, let me repeat. Please bring your children to health facilities and other designated sites for their vitamin A dose. This and the other initiatives that I listed will ensure that our children live healthy lives.

I thank you.