SONIA GANDHI LAUNCHES UNIVERSAL CHILD HEALTH SCREENING SERVICE IN THANE, MAHARASHTRA

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today launched universal Child Health Screening and Early Intervention Service at Palghar town in Thane district of Maharashtra on February 6, 2013. The initiative, called RASHTRIYA BAL SWASTHYA KARYAKRAM is part of the National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The scheme aims to provide comprehensive health care for all children.

As part of the programme, District Early Intervention Centres are to be made operational in all districts to treat cases referred from block levels. Tertiary health services would also be made available for cases requiring surgery. The programme will soon be extended to cover all districts of the country in a phased manner. This ambitious scheme, when implemented, is expected to benefit over 27 crore children. In the past children up to 6 years were examined in aanganwadis by a medical officer, those from 6 to 18 years were covered under the school health programme. Medical teams are to screen children up to 6 years enrolled in anganwadi centres at least twice a year and screen children enrolled in government and government-aided schools. A set of 30 common ailments/health conditions has been identified for screening and early intervention, including birth and heart defects, deficiency conditions, developmental delays and disabilities like hearing impairment, vision impairment, among others. The newborns will also be screened for birth defects in health facilities where deliveries take place and during the home visit by ASHA. The implementation of these services will also generate country wide epidemiological data on selected health conditions for improved future planning of health services.

Q.1 Consider the following statements i. UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will launch a new child health screening titled Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram at Palghar in Gujarats Thane district. ii. It aims to provide a comprehensive healthcare package for all children up to 18 years of age. Which of these statements is/are true? a. Only i b. Only ii c. Both i & ii d. Neither i nor ii Q. 2 Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram is under the aegis of? a. MGNREGA b. National Rural Mission c. Rajiv Awaas Yojana d. None of these