Every baby in South Africa is issued a Road to health book when they are born. These books record your child’s immunizations, illnesses and weight gain, specifically in the first few years of life.
I remember when my now adult kids were babies we has a clinic card, which believe me often needed to be replaced a few times, as inevitably by the time your child was 6 and ready to enter school, these cards were well worn.
Hamish, who was born in 2016, received a Road to Health book instead of the clinic card, and it’s been so much easier to keep his health records neat and together.
Since then, the Road to Health book has been updated and now has an additional App for smart phones known as eRTHB or the Road to health app.
About the Road to Health book
The Road to Health book is issued by the South African department of Health and is the most important tool of our health departments Side-by-Side campaign.
What does the Road to Health book contain ?
The Road to Health book, as mentioned above, is a full record of your child’s growth, immunisations, illnesses and all of their health interventions.
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It is also so much more.
It is also a rich information source for caregivers and an invaluable tool to encourage collaboration between your child’s healthcare workers and a their caregivers.
The Road to Health book is 44 pages long, printed in A5 size format, and is divided into 5 sections.
The 5 sections are:-
- nutrition
- love
- protection
- healthcare
- extra care.
Note
The department of has issued two Road to Health versions and if you were issued an older version, you are not eligible for an updated version.
The Road to Health book is only printed in English.
