Child Health and Development
The goal of the Child Health and Development Unit is to end preventable child deaths and promote the healthy growth and development of all children in the first decade of their life.

Primary level health facilities

Every year, millions of sick children are seen at first-level health facilities. Due to limited human capacity in low- and middle-income countries, and to minimal or non-existent diagnostic supports such as radiology and laboratory services, many children may be inadequately assessed and treated. IMCI was developed to allow high-quality treatment with limited resources.

The IMCI case management process follows these steps:

  • Assess the child’s illness.
  • Classify the illness based on signs.
  • Identify treatment.
  • Treat the child.
  • Counsel the caretaker.
  • Provide follow-up care.

 

 

Related publications

Management of the sick young infant aged up to 2 months: Chart booklet

Every year, about 2.5 million children die in the first month of life, with 98% of these deaths occurring in developing countries. In 2017, 47% of all...

Dengue, dengue haemorrhagic fever and dengue shock syndrome in the context of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness

Dengue is not included in the generic Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) algorithm but it is an important differential diagnosis of fever...

Epidemiology and Management of Common Skin Diseases in Children in Developing Countries

Despite the high frequency of skin diseases in developing countries, they have so far not been regarded as a significant health problem in the development...

Cough and cold remedies for the treatment of acute respiratory infections in young children

Respiratory tract infections are among the most important human health problems because of their high incidence and consequent economic costs. The number...

IMCI chart booklet 2014 cover thumbnail

This chart booklet belongs to a set of distance learning course on integrated management of childhood illness.

Primary child care manual press only cover thumbnail

Primary Child Care: A manual for health workers has been written for health workers who provide primary care of infants and children, either during...

Training material

Management of the sick young infant age up to 2 months: IMNCI training course - Participant manual

These training materials are for training of health workers on the updated management guidelines for managing sick young infant (SYI) age 0 to 59 days....

Management of the sick young infant age up to 2 months: IMNCI training course - Facilitator guide

This module describes how to care for a young infant age 0 to 59 days. It describes how to use the chart booklet “Management of the Sick Young Infant...

IMCI Self study distance learning modules

The basis for the distance learning options (for both ICATT and paper-based distance learning IMCI) is that potentially IMCI could be scaled up in a short...

Model IMCI handbook: : Integrated management of childhood illness

The IMCI model handbook provides a detailed explanation of the IMCI case management guidelines. It is organized into seven main parts: overview of the...

Effective teaching: a guide for educating healthcare providers

This learning package aims to help educators of healthcare providers become more effective teachers. The package is designed for teachers and tutors of...

Model chapter for textbooks : IMCI Integrated Management of Childhood Illness

The model chapter for textbooks was created to help authors and editors incorporate the content of IMCI into local and international textbooks and reference...

Guidelines for follow-up after training in the WHO/UNICEF Course of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness for First-Level Health Workers

The "Guidelines for Follow-up After Training" describe all of the tasks related to a follow-up visit, the second component of IMCI training. A follow-up...