Track your child's growth using WHO standards — the same standards used by African health clinics. Get Z-scores, developmental milestones, and the EPI vaccination schedule.
Expected milestones for your child's age range:
WHO/African EPI (Expanded Programme on Immunisation) schedule. Vaccines marked DUE are for your child's age.
| Age | Vaccines | Status |
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The WHO Child Growth Standards (2006) were developed using data from children in six countries: Brazil, Ghana, India, Norway, Oman, and the United States. This deliberately multicultural sample means the standards reflect how children grow when their needs are met — regardless of ethnicity. The Ghanaian data specifically ensures African children are well-represented. These are the same standards used by all African health ministries and UNICEF nutrition programmes. A child's genetic potential for growth is similar across all human populations; differences in growth outcomes are largely driven by nutrition, health, and environment.
Stunting (low height-for-age, Z-score below -2) occurs when a child doesn't receive adequate nutrition during critical growth periods, particularly the first 1,000 days (from conception to age 2). It affects cognitive development, immune function, and lifetime earning potential in addition to physical growth. Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the world's highest stunting rates: Nigeria 37%, Ethiopia 38%, Tanzania 34%, Kenya 26%. Stunting is largely irreversible after age 3, making early identification and intervention critical.
A Z-score below -2 for height-for-age (stunting) or weight-for-age (underweight) warrants medical attention. Take your child to a health centre or paediatrician. In Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia, Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) programmes offer therapeutic feeding and support for severely affected children. Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) is available through many government health facilities. Don't panic — many children respond well to nutritional support, especially when identified early.
The core EPI schedule is very similar across Africa, following WHO recommendations. Most countries include: BCG, OPV, DTP-HepB-Hib, PCV (pneumococcal), Rotavirus, Measles/MR, Yellow Fever, and Meningitis A. Some variations exist: South Africa uses a slightly different schedule; some countries have added HPV (girls aged 9–14), Typhoid conjugate, and COVID-19 vaccines. Always check with your country's health ministry or your child's clinic for the official national schedule in your area.
Family-health tools should turn dates, costs, growth, feeding, and vaccine questions into safer preparation for antenatal, paediatric, and community health visits.
This app now has its own benchmarked improvement layer, dashboard handoff, email-gated PDF plan, and a route into the Pregnancy and child care plan workflow.
WHO child growth standards: Growth tools need percentile context, repeat measurement, and provider review.
Implemented here: Added family-health dashboard/PDF plan and WHO benchmark block.