strengthening of Primary Healthcare

The strengthening of primary health care is essential for achieving MDG aimed at reducing child mortality as most of the deaths in children are preventable. The various strategies to achieve MDG goal related to child morality are as below: (i) Operationalizing Community Health Centres as First Referral Units (FRUs) and Primary Health Centres (24X7) for round the clock maternal and newborn care services. (ii) Promotion of Institutional Delivery through JananiSurakshaYojana (JSY) and JananiShishuSurakshaKaryakram (JSSK): Promoting Institutional delivery to ensure skilled birth attendance is key to reducing both maternal and neo-natal mortality. (iii) Strengthening Facility based newborn care: Newborn care corners (NBCC) are being set up at all health facilities where deliveries take place; Special New Born Care Units (SNCUs) and New Born Stabilization Units (NBSUs) are also being set up at appropriate facilities for the care of sick newborn including preterm babies. (iv) Home Based New-born Care (HBNC): Home based newborn care through ASHA has been initiated to improve new born practices at the community level and early detection and referral of sick new born babies. (v) Capacity building of health-care providers: Various trainings are being conducted under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to build and upgrade the skills of health care providers in essential newborn care, care of sick child with pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition including care of mothers during pregnancy and delivery. (vi) Establishment of nutritional rehabilitation centres for management of severe acute malnourished children with medical complications. (vii) Introduction of Rashtriya Kishore SwasthyaKaryakram (RKSK) to reach adolescent population in their home spaces and introducing peer led intervention at the community level supported by augmentation of facility based services. (viii) Introduction of RashtriyaBalSwasthyaKaryakram for (RBSK) for screening of all the children upto 18 years of age for defects, deficiencies, development delays and specific diseases. The programme also provides early interventions services and management of children needing surgical intervention at tertiary level facilities. (ix) Prevention and treatment of Anaemia by supplementation with Iron and Folic Acid tablets to adolescent, pregnant and lactating women and children. (x) Strengthening of Universal immunization programme (UIP) for reducing vaccine preventable diseases. (xi) Name Based Tracking of Pregnant Women and children to ensure complete antenatal, intra-natal and postnatal care and immunization services.