4.1 Introduction

Creating a child-friendly environment is a very important part of promoting children’s right to have the best possible health and well-being. Health facilities can be designed to promote children’s rights to express their views, support their best interests and be non-discriminatory. As a health worker you can address barriers that obstruct children’s access to effective health services in the environment in which you work.

In this session you will learn about the value of a child-friendly environment in health service delivery. Such an environment can be created by training staff to be child-friendly, providing facilities, such as play rooms where feasible, and promoting child-friendly attitudes. This session will explore how establishing protocols and standards can also help to create the right environment.

Not all measures to establish a child-friendly service require resources – sometimes all it takes is a change of attitude and personal commitment.