Children’s Health and Well-Being: from the 19th to the 21th Century

Abstract

Child healthcare was scarce till the second half of the 19th century and only in 1989 were children’s rights officially acknowledged in the Convention on the Children Rights. But health is just one dimension of well-being that includes all domains of quality of life, whether physical, emotional, or social.
Nowadays, health indicators related to children are a ma*er of pride not only for the progress made but also for achieving similar values to other countries in the European Union.
Undoubtedly, from the 19th century to the 21st century, since the creation of the Sociedade das Ciências Médicas, the evolution of health in Portugal, notably children’s health with the establishment of the National Health Service and proper planning, has allowed for significant and recognized gains.