Home-based comprehensive child care scheme will be implemented in the State, Health Minister Veena George has said.
Through this scheme, Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) will make home visits to ensure the well being of all infants from the first week of birth till 18 months of age, by keeping an eye on immunisations, developmental milestones, maternal health, and ensuring that all benefits of welfare schemes reach the family.
She was inaugurating the new-born protection week observance here at Thiruvananthapuram Government Medical College Hospital on Thursday.
Kerala, which has the lowest infant mortality rate in the country at 6 per 1,000 live births, is trying to reduce this further. New-born health is an area that the State is focusing on. There are 24 sick new-born care units in the State, apart from 64 such care units and 101 stablisation units.
Over 1.10 lakh children are born in the State every year in public hospitals, of whom 92% babies are nursed to good health. Shalabham, the new-born health screening and evaluation project, is being implemented in all public hospitals.
Ms. George also inaugurated the special call facility to follow up the newborns discharged from neonatal ICUs. The occasion was also the get together of 75 newborns who were cared for in the sick neonatal care nursery at SAT Hospital in the past one year.
Kadakampally Surendran, MLA, presided over the function.
