Over 12.75 crore children in Gujarat screened under the National Child Health Programme in the last 9 years

Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government has always been concerned about the health of the state’s children as they are the country’s future. The School Health Program was implemented by the State Government’s Health Department in 1998 for ensuring the well-being of children’s health.In 2014, the Government of India launched the National Child Health Programme. Since 2014, the School Health Programme of Gujarat has been known as ‘School Health- National Child Health Programme’ (SH-RBSK).

Today, health check-up of crores of children is conducted every year through this programme. In 2022-23, 1,35,19,381 children have been screened for health-related issues.

Under this program, health check-ups of more than 12.75 crore children have been done across the state in the last nine years since 2014. Of these, heart-related surgeries were facilitated for 1,39,368 children, 17,556 children have been given kidney-related treatment, 10,860 children have been treated for cancer, 177 children underwent kidney transplants, 26 underwent liver transplants, 198 children got bone marrow transplants, 2,738 children were given cochlear implants, 6,987 children have been given club foot and 6,064 children have been treated for cleft lips.

In 2022-23, 17,544 children have been provided treatment for heart ailments, 724 for kidney diseases, 337 treated for cancer, 13 children got kidney transplant, one child got liver transplant, 10 got bone marrow transplant, 297 underwent cochlear implant surgery, 952 children were given club foot and 315 operated for cleft lip-palate.

Shahjahan Pathan, mother of Shahnawaz Nasir Khan Pathan, who underwent heart surgery under the School Health National Child Health Programme, says, “My five-year-old son was diagnosed with a hole in his heart when he was admitted for pneumonia at the Civil Hospital. Necessary reports were done, on an immediate basis and he was shifted to the U. N. Mehta Hospital where specialist doctors performed the surgery free of cost. Today, my son is healthy and has not faced any health issues after the operation. We express our gratitude to the Central and the State government. These days, when treatment in private hospitals is becoming expensive, such kind of assistance from the government ensures there is no financial burden on the family.”

Under the School Health-National Child Health Programme, health check-ups and treatment and referral services for health and wellness are provided to all children from birth to 18 years.

Under the National Child Health Programme, newborns to 5 years at Aanganwadis, students from classes 1 to 12, children up to the age of 18 , those in ashramshalas, madrasas and child protection homes are provided treatment through regular health check-ups and referral service by the RBSK mobile health team.