Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. K.G. Arunraj said on Thursday that the ‘Thaimaman Thanga Modhiram’ scheme is related to public health.
A workshop on the role of the media in developmental disabilities and early childhood development was jointly organized by the Chennai Press Information Office and UNICEF. In this, Minister K.G. Arunraj said:
On Sept. 28, Chief Minister Joseph C. Vijay launched the “Thaimaman Gold Ring” scheme. At first glance, it may seem like a gold ring scheme for newborns. But its true meaning is that this government considers every child its own from the very first day of birth; it also wants that child to be born under the supervision of the public health system.
According to the 6th National Family Health Survey released this year, 20.7 percent of children under the age of 5 are stunted. Severe malnutrition has risen to 17.4 percent. Nearly one in four children is underweight. The survey also states that only one in five children up to the age of 2 receive adequate food.
Action on three fronts: Tamil Nadu has largely solved the problem of newborn survival. But the problem of children thriving has not yet been solved. If a child’s developmental delay is not identified at the anganwadi or at the district early intervention center, that is not a success; therefore, the health department has been asked to take action on three fronts.
There are 34 district early intervention centers in the state. These centers have pediatricians, hearing specialists, speech therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists, and others. First, every child discharged from our hospitals who is ill, born prematurely, or has a low birth weight will be taken directly to the district early intervention center. Second, during the first 1,000 days, the village health nurse and anganwadi worker, in coordination with social welfare department staff, will monitor the child’s development. Through this, developmental delays in children will be identified as early as 18 months. Third, a report will be sought not only on how many children were screened, but also on how many weeks they were monitored. The minister noted that the expected benefits will be achieved only when such government measures reach all sections of society.
In his special address at this workshop, Tamil Nadu State Public Health Department Director Dr. Somesundaram said that parents should monitor their children’s developmental stages from birth, and noted that facilities for free screenings using technological and psychological methods are available in all districts. He also stated that in a special screening conducted in Tiruvallur district, 39 out of 5,000 children were found to have early-stage impairments.
Additional Director General of the Chennai Press Information Office, Kamaraj, welcomed the gathering. Tamil Nadu State Additional Director of the National Health Mission, Dr. K. Vinay Kumar, UNICEF communication expert Shyam Sudhir Bandi, Dr. Anurag Joshi, Dr. R. Bindu, and Director of the Chennai Press Information Office, P. Arunkumar, spoke.
