Shania Shayal Prasad 
[Source: MT]
The Ministry of Health is actively working to improve maternal and child healthcare services by engaging fathers in the process.
Recognizing the growing number of fathers bringing their children to clinics, the Ministry seeks to take advantage of this opportunity by offering fathers free medical check-ups during their visits.
Chief Medical Advisor Dr Jemesa Tudravu emphasizes the significance of integrating fathers into the healthcare system.
“So for us to be able to also take advantage of that opportunity and model our health in such a way that it’s not only attending to to the mother’s needs, more often than not is the mothers that bring. But every now and then a father brings a child. But when the father does come, then we are able to offer something”
Family Health Unit Head Dr Rachel Devi adds that the approach not only encourages fathers to take advantage of free check-ups but also allows their monitoring and referral for emerging or pre-existing medical conditions.
“And with the NCD crisis, that’s an opportunity that we’d love to leverage on. Otherwise, unfortunately, men are lost in the picture of it all.”
The Ministry of Health and the Japan International Cooperation Agency are jointly working on developing a national policy for maternal and child health, which includes aligning both maternal and paternal care within a comprehensive family health framework.
