Uttara Kannada beefs up child health care to tackle 3rd wave
Karwar, June 12, 2021: With experts fearing the 3rd wave might affect the children, Uttara Kannada district has beefed up child health care.
About 70 percent of Uttara Kannada is covered by rural areas. Therefore Asha (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers play an active role in villages.
A kit comprising protein powder, Chawanprash, Multivitamin syrup, Zink & Iron syrup, and medicine for fever will be provided for those with severe malnourishment
They have been asked to survey and have a clear picture of the children in their jurisdiction. This will be helpful for the district administration to keep a tab on children’s health and in providing necessary aid.
Giving details Zilla Panchayat CEO Priyanga M said that the district administration will conduct a health checkup of all the children. It will be done by the respective Primary Health Centers (PHCs). A 25-bed Covid ward for children will be set up in every Taluk. The places have already been identified for this.
These wards will be children-friendly and will have toys in addition to all medical facilities like ventilators and toilets.
The district administration is keeping a tab on the nutrition level among the children. As per the data available with the district administration, there are 1.06 lakh children below 6 years in Uttara Kannada. Of these 184 suffer from severe malnourishment and 4,402 with average malnourishment.
“We are taking extra care of these children. A kit comprising protein powder, Chawanprash, Multivitamin syrup, Zink and Iron syrup, and medicine for fever will be provided for those with severe malnourishment. These children will be provided one and half times more eggs than they used to get earlier.
She said that as many as 151 children tested positive in the second wave but none of them were admitted to the hospital. Also, these children did not have any health complications.
