Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Tulsiram Silavat on Monday launched the Dastak Abhiyan to be run across the State till July 20, at the Community Health Centre Misrod. Minister
Silavat gave a Dastak kits to the Dastak teams and sent them off to the villages. He said that the Dastak Abhiyan should be taken up as a challenge if children have to be freed from malnutrition and diseases. A target has been set to contact 75 lakh children up to five years in every house in every village. When the Dastak team visits houses, they must provide sufficient information regarding the health of the children to the family members.
They should examine the children. They should identify malnourished and sick children and ensure arrangement for their treatment. Silavat said that the Health Commissioner has been asked to inform him about daily progress of work of the Dastak teams across the state.
Silavat said that during the campaign to be run in the state till July 20, he will himself visit any village in any district to review the Dastak teams work without prior notice. He said that ASHA, ANM and health workers are the basic staff of the Health Department. The campaign includes more than 60,000 ASHA workers and more than 15,000 ANMs. The campaign includes teams of Women-Child Development and Panchayat and Rural Development Department.
Silavat said that officials-employees of all the departments have to make concrete efforts in a coordinated manner. The campaign has to be taken as a movement and not just a mere formality and has to be made successful. He said that excellent performers in the district, gram panchayat and block under the campaign will be awarded.
Health Commissioner Shri Nitesh Vyas said that under the Dastak Abhiyan, Anganwadi, ANM and ASHA workers will visit every house and identify children under 5 with children diseases at the community level and ensure prompt treatment to ensure effective decline in child mortality rate. Under the campaign important actions will be taken including identification of sick children and newborns of the community, management and referral, diagnosis of infant and childhood pneumonia, management, identification of malnourished children and sending them to NRC for treatment. The Dastak team will visit each and every house in the villages and will advise them on awareness related to the use of ORS and zinc to control childhood diarrhoea, supplementation of Vitamin-A, birth defects, infant and child nutrition care in the age group of 9 months to 5 years.
