HYDERABAD: Jawahar Bala Arogya Raksha, a health programme for school children, will be launched across the state tomorrow, marking the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. Chief minister K Rosaiah will formally launch the health programme at Narsingi in Ranga Reddy district.
The unique health programme for school children is aimed at conducting screening tests for children studying in all government and government-aided schools for illness and provide them necessary treatment.
Nearly 85 lakh school children studying at government schools will benefit from the scheme. A health experts team led by government doctors will visit a government school every week and conduct tests to know if any student is suffering from anaemia, malnutrition or any other such problem. Necessary medicines will be provided to the needy students and in case of severe illness they will be referred to a nearby government hospital for treatment. The objective of the programme is to arrest the dropout rate in schools and provide better medical service to students, particularly those at residential schools.
The chief minister directed officials of the departments of medical and health, education, women and child welfare, tribal welfare, social welfare and others concerned to work in coordination to make the programme effective.
About 85 per cent of the funds will sanctioned by the Centre under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) scheme and the remaining 15 per cent will be provided by the state government.
Officials have made arrangements to provide proper medication to children suffering from minor ailments like fever, cough and cold.
Every Thursday will be observed as ‘School Health Day’ in government schools where the health officials will visit at least one school a week. Screening tests will be conducted for students from December 1 to March 10 during 2010-11.
The tests will be conducted in each school for two days in a week. For diagnosis and treatment students will be sent to a nearby government hospital where treatment programmes will be conducted. Further, students will be given ‘Student Health Card’ containing the entire medical information of the student. In case of an emergency, medical teams will take up treatment immediately.