Government Updates Federal Statistical Plan for Children’s Health and Wellbeing

As follows from the document, every year until March 25, the Ministry of Health will report on new indicators of the incidence of children. Reporting involves the collection of data on the proportion of minors aged from birth to 17 years old with diagnosed cancer, their overall incidence of obesity in terms of 100,000 people by age group, as well as the coverage of children who have received anti-infective vaccinations.

It is also expected to take into account women who refused to have an abortion and became pregnant after IVF. The number of children’s rehabilitation beds in terms of 10,000 children under 17 will also be taken under control.

The previous three indicators of preventive examinations of children were combined into one, leaving the collection of data on the number of children who underwent such examinations and their distribution by health groups. Statistical data on neonatal screening coverage of newborns will also continue to be collected.

Data on the health status of premature babies weighing from 500 to 999 g and more than 1 kg were excluded from reporting.

In addition, Rosstat will collect data on the satisfaction of families with the work of children’s polyclinics, to which children under 15 are attached. Another all-Russian reference indicator is the infant mortality rate, that is, the number of dead children under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births.

In addition to reporting on the incidence of children, the Ministry of Health also included statistical reporting on chronic viral hepatitis in the plan. Data collection will be carried out in the context of regions, federal districts and the country as a whole. The Ministry of Health must provide summary information on this disease annually by March 25.

New statistical indicators on childhood morbidity within the framework of the Decade of Childhood in November 2022 were approved by the government. A year earlier, an action plan was approved within the framework of the Decade of Childhood, the main directions of which include support for children with cancer and disabilities.