Indore: Health Department Flags Off Dastak Campaign

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Health Department flagged off the Dastak campaign on Tuesday with an aim to spread awareness about the diseases affecting children during the rainy season. It has identified nearly four lakh children in the age group 0-5 years to provide them with immediate help. Regional director health services Dr RC Panika inaugurated the campaign by feeding Vitamin A supplements to one-and-a-half-year-old Kayra and 3-year-old Shivansh and showing the green flag to the Dastak team.

The list of the identified 3,82,798 children has been sent to Asha Anganwadi workers. A campaign will be organised to spread awareness regarding symptoms, prevention, and cure of dengue, diarrhoea, and other diseases which may prevail during the monsoon season. The department will hold rallies, public announcements, and demonstrations in Haat Bazaars and other public places about the prevention of diseases.

Under the campaign the focus would be on identification, management and referral of sick newborns and children, simple identification of symptoms to identify childhood pneumonia, identification of severely malnourished children and referral in NRC, active screening and management of anaemia in children in the age group 6 months to 5 years, and check for diarrhoea due to rainy season. 

Control of diabetes and use of ORS and Zinc tablets, Vitamin-A dosage for children from 09 months to 05 years, identification and management of congenital malformations and growth delay in children after 06 months, supplementary diet and hygiene practices from SNCU and NRC will be done to inquire about the status of partially vaccinated children or children left out of vaccination drive. This campaign will continue from July 18 to August 31.

On this occasion joint director Dr Sharad Gupta, deputy director Dr Madhav Hasani, chief medical and health officer Dr S Saitya, district immunization officer Dr Tarun Gupta and district extension and medium officer Dr Manisha Pandit were present.