UNICEF BiH, through a partnership with the Bosnian-Herzegovinian-American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS), is part of the international conference "8. Days of BHAAAS in Bosnia and Herzegovina—Knowledge is divisible wealth" in Neum at the end of May 2016 and held a two-day transdisciplinary symposium in the field of early growth and development. The conference brought together 260 top lecturers from the fields of medical, technical, and social sciences and arts, and over 1000 participants. The goal of the conference was mutual acquaintance and exchange of opinions of professionals from several fields, as well as the initiation of new joint initiatives.
During the Transdisciplinary Symposium in the field of early growth and development, policies, strategies, programs, and materials were presented, which, with the support of UNICEF BiH, were created by the unitary Working Groups for Early Growth and Development in cooperation with the specialized non-governmental organization EDUS—Education for All. In 2013, the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina adopted the Strategy on the Improvement of Early Growth and Development of Children in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2013-2017, while the Government of the Republic of Srpska adopted the Program for the Early Growth and Development of Children in the Republic of Srpska 2016-2020.
"At the state level, in 2012, the Framework Policy for the Advancement of Early Growth and Development of Children in Bosnia and Herzegovina was signed, which is an expression of the political determination of Bosnia and Herzegovina to act to improve the early growth and development of children. Intersectoral protocols on cooperation have been signed and are being actively advocated in both entities, as well as at the level of 8 cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 20 municipalities, and soon we expect cooperation with other cantons and municipalities," says Dr. Selena Bajraktarević, head of the Health and Early Childhood Growth and Development Program in UNICEF BiH.
As explained by Dr. Bajraktarević, 90% of the brain develops in the first five years of life, so providing support to children from an early age brings lasting benefits for the entire society. What is missed at an early age can never be fully compensated. Services for improving early childhood growth and development are provided in centers for early growth and development, which were established at health centers, clinics, and kindergartens, and work with children is based on the individual needs of each child in all five developmental areas.
"The importance of this approach is based on changing attitudes and needs; therefore, all professionals who work with children need to learn new skills to be ready to provide new services. At the level of primary health care, pediatricians, medical professionals, and outpatient nurses play an important role, they should detect children with delays or deviations in growth and development during home visits and refer them to the system that will provide such children with the necessary early intervention services. In this way, children who are at risk or already deviating from typical growth and development will have the opportunity to catch up and develop to their full potential. The program is based on a multi-sectoral approach so that all professionals who work with children are trained to apply the same methods and work according to the same principles, which have been standardized for the first time in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The program focuses on families with children up to the age of six who live in poor social and economic conditions, are excluded from the protection system, and these children are at high risk of induced delays in growth and development," emphasized Dr. Bajraktarević.
"With the support of UNICEF, NGO EDUS educates experts who work in centers for early growth and development through theoretical lectures and practical work with children. After the first three-day training, the experts return to their workplace in the health center, kindergarten, or center for social work, where they start providing early growth and development services according to the learned methodology. The following three-day cycle of education provides them with new information and builds on their new skills in working with children. In parallel with the training, experts from EDUS carry out supervisory visits to the centers, and in direct work with professionals at their place of work in health centers or kindergartens, they improve their newly acquired knowledge. In this way, the best training results are achieved," adds Prof. Nirvana Pištoljević from EDUS.
Monitoring of children's growth and development concerning developmental norms is carried out through unique developmental and behavioral scales for assessing the development of children aged from the first month to six years of age. This instrument is the first standardized instrument in BiH that monitors all areas of child development, is applied by professionals from all three sectors, and is based on objectively measurable skills of the child.
Dr. Bajraktarević: "The program is based on a multisectoral approach."
"Often parents don't know how to monitor their child's development and how to stimulate them in the home environment. The materials for parents, which were created as part of this program, are unique because they teach parents in a simple way how to stimulate their child's development at home through every day, very simple activities. At the same time, using these materials, parents can recognize deviations in the child's development and learn when to ask for the help of experts. Our goal is to provide equal access to early growth and development services for all parents with children up to six years of age in the coming period, with a focus on early detection of children with developmental deviations," says Dr. Bajraktarević.
"There are more and more positive examples from practice in BiH every day, and we hope that the interest and need for new services will grow more and more. It is important for parents to understand the importance of their role in the child's development and to provide the child with a positive, stimulating home environment in which the child will feel protected, loved, and cared for. It is also important that, when you notice deviations in the development of your child, parents react and seek the advice and services of educated professionals at the health center or kindergarten," adds Prof. Pistoljevic.
Dr. Bajraktarević emphasizes that the graphs, which follow the child's progress according to the number of mastered skills in all five developmental areas, clearly indicate that as a result of early intervention, every child achieves progress. In children who are at risk of developmental delays, early intervention helps prevent developmental difficulties due to a risky environment and lack of stimulation, and the vast majority of them are ready to successfully attend regular elementary school and master school material. All professionals who work with children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including pediatricians, nurses, educators, and social workers, want to be actively involved and contribute to the improvement of early childhood growth and development to prevent negative factors from the environment.
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