The Road to Health

More children are surviving, but not enough are thriving.

Mortality rates for children under 5 have decreased in South Africa, but many children are not reaching their full development potential as evidenced by the high rates of stunting and poor educational outcomes.

The national Side-by-Side campaign in South Africa is working to encourage stronger collaboration between healthcare workers and caregivers to improve children’s health and development, in part through their Road to Health Book that is issued to all new births across the country.

THE GAP

The Road to Health Book is a health education tool given to caregivers in South Africa, free for all babies born since late 2018 in public or private health care facilities. The book places the supportive relationship between the caregiver and the child at the center of the child's development, and emphasizes the relationship between caregivers and healthcare professionals, working side by side to support each child.

OUR APPROACH

In collaboration with the National Department of Health and multiple South African maternal child health stakeholders, we have created a series of videos that highlight the paradigm shift towards the caregiver as central to their child's nurturing care and protection, and their lifelong health outcomes, with the health worker playing an integral role in this journey.
The videos are used to introduce the Road to Health Book, as well as to outline 5 themes: Nutrition, Love, Protection, Health Care and Extra Care.

DISSEMINATION

These videos have been shared with the South African National Department of Health, the Western Cape Department of Health, and various organizations across South Africa. In addition to being featured in the national Side-by-Side communication campaign, the videos are played in clinic waiting rooms to share critical health information with patients as they wait for their appointments.