THE Ministry of Health on Tuesday began issuing the new Child Health and Development Passport (CHDP), heralding what many believe to be a significant step to the modernisation of the health sector.

The document, which was handed out to mothers at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in Kingston, aims to reduce Jamaica's infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds come 2015. The infant morality rate currently stands at 21 per 1000 live births from 26, and the child morality rate is currently at 25 per 1000 live births coming from 32.

All children are now expected to have the passport, which is set to replace the conventional immunisation card. It will be a standard document required from parents wishing to get medical attention for children from birth to age 17 years.

"I strongly believe that the passport will enable us to achieve even more impressive numbers within a shorter period of time," said Health Minister Rudyard Spencer at Tuesday's handing over ceremony at the maternity hospital in downtown Kingston.

The passport will contain the child's medical history, nutritional and oral health, childhood illnesses, injuries, referrals, nutritional information and parenting and safety tips. It will also include the child's educational assessment and information, such as school readiness assessment test, literacy and numeracy tests and grade six achievement test.

"I would like to appeal to parents to assist us in ensuring that the passport is properly utilized so that your child can receive all the benefits intended for that child. Do not leave the hospital without one after the birth of your child," Spencer said.

Shauna Johnson and Doraine Pryce-Wilks, who both delivered their sons at the VJH shortly after 12 midnight Tuesday, were the first two recipients of the passport.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education Andrew Holness said a section of the passport would be recorded in his ministry's central database.

"There is a national health issue that is impacting on education; we won't know unless we collect the data and analyze the data," he said.

He said the document was therefore equally important for his ministry, as it would be for the health sector.

"There is a nexus between health and education. Good health makes for good education and good education makes for good health. This document starts the process of tracking the health of the child and also the developmental stages of the child, which supports the education of the child," he said.

Senior medical officer at the VJH, Rudolph Stevens, described the handing over of the documents as an historic feat for Jamaica.

"We have been having meetings over the last probably three or more years to come up with this child health and development passport to bring us in line with international requirements," he said. "It is good to be pregnant, but more important is to have a safe delivery and today (Tuesday), we are going to deliver this passport to the nation."