Introductory remarks – Facilitating a faster and more flexible upscaling of IMCI Klaus M. Leisinger, President and Managing Director of the NFSD, said that infant and child mortality is one of today’s biggest human tragedies, and most of these deaths could actually be prevented. The training of health workers though ICATT can help reduce child mortality and contribute to the achievement of Millennium Development Goal 4 (a two-third reduction in under-five mortality by 2015).

Elisabeth Mason, Director of the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Department at the WHO, acknowledged the advancement in technology since the IMCI strategy was launched to reduce infant and childhood mortality. In particular, ICATT has enabled to meet the needs of health workers more quickly and efficiently, as demonstrated by the very high demand for the training.

Frits de Haan and Ivan Lejnev, NFSD consultants, presented ICATT. The software enables a large number of health workers to be trained in IMCI in a cost-effective way without a loss in quality, hence leading to a faster and more flexible upscaling of IMCI. Importantly, the information can be tailored to meet country-specific features and the needs of end users.