Patna, March 21: The state government would formally launch a scheme on Tuesday to provide healthcare protection to 3.4 crore children under 14 years of age and adolescent girls.
“Chief minister Nitish Kumar will launch Nayee Peedhi Swasthya Guarantee Karyakram at Gandhi Maidan to provide an immediate healthcare need and referral care according to the requirements. It is a very comprehensive and ambitious programme under which we will ensure that children and adolescent girls don’t have to face lack of healthcare facilities,” health department principal secretary Amarjit Sinha and secretary Sanjay Kumar said in a joint news conference.
The basic objective behind introducing the scheme is to detect any health-related problems in early infancy and childhood so that proper interventions could be taken before it was too late, Sinha said, adding the first three years after the birth of any child was crucial and if any disease is not treated early, it could lead to serious health hazards in the future.
Different health cards have been designed for children belonging to various age groups. There would be separate cards for children under two months of age, another card for children between two and six months, a third card for those between six months and 14 years while the fourth card is meant for adolescent girls, the principal secretary said.
He said the scheme has been prepared after consultations with health experts.
Sinha said the statistics reveal malnutrition, anaemia in adolescents and child marriages in Bihar were higher than the national average and the department was putting in efforts to root out prevalent diseases among children and adolescent girls for the growth of human resources.
“The programme would cover children under six years and later it would be extended up to 14 years, for children studying at government schools, where 90 per cent of children of the state have been enrolled,” Sinha said, adding the scheme would be run in coordination with social welfare and human resource development department.
