Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK)

Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK)

  1. Introduction
  2. The Vision
  3. Objectives
  4. Target Groups
  5. Strategies

Introduction

  • The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has launched a health programme for adolescents, in the age group of 10-19 years, which would target their nutrition, reproductive health and substance abuse, among other issues.
  • The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram was launched on 7th January, 2014.
  • The key principle of this programme is adolescent participation and leadership, Equity and inclusion, Gender Equity and strategic partnerships with other sectors and stakeholders.
  • The programme envisions enabling all adolescents in India to realize their full potential by making informed and responsible decisions related to their health and well-being and by accessing the services and support they need to do so.
  • To guide the implementation of this programme, MOHFW in collaboration with UNFPA has developed a National Adolescent Health Strategy.
  • It realigns the existing clinic-based curative approach to focus on a more holistic model based on a continuum of care for adolescent health and developmental needs.
  • The Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (National Adolescent Health Programme), will comprehensively address the health needs of the 243 million adolescents. It introduces community-based interventions through peer educators, and is underpinned by collaborations with other ministries and state governments.

The Vision

  • The strategy envisions that all adolescents in India are able to realise their full potential by making informed and responsible decisions related to their health and well-being, and by accessing the services and support they need to do so.
  • The implementation of this vision requires support from the government and other institutions, including the health, education and labour sectors as well as adolescents’ own families and communities.
  • Building an agenda for adolescent health requires an escalation in the visibility of young people and an understanding of the challenges to their health and development.
  • It needs implementation of approaches that will ensure a successful transition to adulthood.
  • This requires that the multi-dimensional health needs and special concerns of adolescents are understood and addressed in national policies and a range of programmes at different levels.

Objectives

  • Improve nutrition
  • Reduce the prevalence of malnutrition among adolescent girls and boys
  • Reduce the prevalence of iron-deficiency anaemia (IDA) among adolescent girls and boys
  • Improve sexual and reproductive health
  • Improve knowledge, attitudes and behaviour, in relation to SRH
  • Reduce teenage pregnancies
  • Improve birth preparedness, complication readiness and provide early parenting support for  adolescent parents
  • Enhance mental health
  • Address mental health concerns of adolescents
  • Prevent injuries and violence
  • Promote favourable attitudes for preventing injuries and violence (including GBV) among adolescents
  • Prevent substance misuse
  • Increase adolescents’ awareness of the adverse effects and consequences of substance misuse
  • Address NCDs
  • Promote behaviour change in adolescents to prevent NCDs such as hypertension, stroke, cardio-vascular diseases and diabetes

Target Groups

  • The new adolescent health (AH) strategy focuses on age groups 10-14 years and 15-19 years with universal coverage, i.e. males and females; urban and rural; in school and out of school; married and unmarried; and vulnerable and under-served.

Strategies

Strategies/interventions to achieve objectives can be broadly grouped as:

  • Community based interventions
  • Peer Education (PE)
  • Quarterly Adolescent Health Day (AHD)
  • Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme (WIFS)
  • Menstrual Hygiene Scheme (MHS)
  • Facility based interventions
  • Strengthening of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHC)
  • Convergence
  • Within Health & Family Welfare – FP, MH (incl VHND), RBSK, NACP, National Tobacco Control Programme, National Mental Health Programme, NCDs and IEC
  • With other departments/schemes – WCD (ICDS, KSY, BSY, SABLA), HRD (AEP, MDM), Youth Affairs and Sports (Adolescent Empowerment Scheme, National Service Scheme, NYKS, NPYAD)
  • Social and Behaviour Change Communication with focus on Inter Personal Communication.