Mumbai: As many as 36.46 per cent of children and adolescents in the age group of 0-18 years are suffering from minor and major illnesses, according to data collected by the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation under the ‘Aware Parent, Healthy Child’ campaign.
Held between February 9 and May 31, the initiative – which was hit by Covid and gathered pace after a gap of three years – found that most of the children surveyed suffered from dental, skin, eye and upper respiratory tract infections, while patients with serious illnesses were shifted to major hospitals.
Sick children referred to healthcare facilities
As per the official data, nearly 12,02,265 children were screened during the campaign and 4, 40,246 of them were found to be ill; which means three out of five kids had health issues. They were referred to nearest healthcare facilities for treatment, said senior health officials.
Describing the drive's importance, doctors, who are part of the campaign, said, “The initiative will help us to identify several health issues faced by school children and adolescents, which could not have been detected or diagnosed during the regular check-up. Many kids were detected with congenital anomalies, blood clots, eye and heart diseases, goitre, tuberculosis, leprosy, cancer, asthma, sickle cell and epilepsy.”
Importance of regular health check-ups
The campaign aims to educate parents about the importance of regular health check-ups for children and encourages them to take preventive measures to keep their kids healthy. It also seeks to provide immediate treatment to children, the medicos added.
BMC Executive Health Officer Dr Mangala Gomare said that medical teams have been conducting health screening at schools, colleges and anganwadis, and also for street children who don't go to school.
“The surveyed kids were referred to maternity homes, primary health care centres, peripheral and medical colleges, and hospitals for treatment, depending on their health issues. Around 24 lakh children will be screened in Mumbai under the campaign's (next phase),” she said.
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