The child health and development programme envisions a world in which all children enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, as their fundamental right, growing and developing to their full potential.

The programme aims at reducing deaths and illness in children under the age of five in countries of the Region and promoting their growth and development. This objective includes providing technical support to countries to achieve Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by 2015 compared with the 1990 level.

The regional child health and development programme:

• addresses child health, including both the healthy and sick child
• promotes the healthy growth and development of children under-five years of age
• covers child health problems of public health significance, i.e. conditions which are common in children and have a major impact on their health and development, and which can be addressed by evidence-based interventions
• promotes evidence-based strategies and interventions
• supports a systematic, public health approach, and
• strives to ensure that all children have equal access to quality child health care and services.