The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) program screens children from newborns to 18-year-olds for health issues.
Karnataka’s Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) program achieved 67 percent of the goal it had targeted for 2022-23. The department wants to get better results for the upcoming year.
For this, Dr. Ningadalli Siddharam, State Consultant, RBSK, said that the department is considering expanding the coverage of the program from only government schools, to private schools as well but no decision has been made yet. “If we do decide to include private schools; we might start doing it from next year,” he added.
Karnataka’s Economic Survey (2022-23) stated that 141 lakh children were targeted by the program in 2022-23. Of this, 94.73 lakh children were screened by the government. The remaining 33 percent, which is 46.27 lakh children, were not screened. The government had targeted 56,387 schools and were able to screen 55,985 schools.
RBSK is a program introduced under the National Health Mission (NHM). Under the RBSK program, children studying in government, government-aided, government residential schools, colleges and Anganwadi centers are screened for any health issues. They are screened for the four Ds – Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies and Development delays. This program aims to improve the overall quality of life of children from all communities.
RBSK focuses on detecting and treating health issues faced by children.
State Consultant Siddharam said, “We are aware of the gap between the target and what we achieved.” He said that they are trying to ensure that this gap is bridged in the upcoming year. “We have faced a few setbacks due to various reasons during 2022-23 and will avoid those this year,” he added.
Shruthi, mother of a five-year-old girl in Kamthur, said that her child has never been screened for any health issues. “A few years ago, government officials used to come and check our health. But no one has come in recent years,” she said.
Dr. Ahish, a paediatrician, said that early screening and detection of health issues in children is essential to ensure that they live a healthy life. “Sometimes we are too late to catch a disease which a child is born with.” He said that this is because most people do not get regular check-ups done throughout their childhood. “Detecting a problem in the early stages can prevent a lot of pain and grief for anyone, especially children,” added Dr. Ahish.
Dr. Mustafa, a public health policy professor said, “Many disorders which start showing symptoms later in life, are usually easily correctable if they are detected during the childhood.” He said that currently, RBSK is not functioning to its full potential. There are many reasons for this, but the main reason might be that the public, especially parents, do not understand the importance of having regular full body check-ups, he said. “The state of medical literacy is very poor in our country; and until that changes, no scheme or program will make any difference,” he added.
