Health, Education and Youth development have been a priority area of the government of Jharkhand. 1,000 days SAAMAR initiative for eradication of anaemia & malnutrition is one such example of that. Given this, the state government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren has started a special training programme on health & hygiene management, with the name ‘Apni Suraksha Apne Haath’, for the students of government schools, government-aided schools. With this initiative, the government aims to educate students studying in schools to understand the benefit of sanitation & hygiene management for leading a healthy lifestyle. With the direction from chief minister Hemant Soren the school education & literacy department in coordination with the Health education & family welfare department is jointly running this programme across 14,500 schools.
In Jharkhand, a substantial part of the population resides in rural areas with basic minimum amenities. Awareness related to health and sanitation can bring a major difference in the lifestyle of the people of Jharkhand while creating a healthy & clean living environment. With this aim, on the 3rd of December 2020, the state government started a School health programme under Ayushman Bharat. This programme will make students aware of a wide range of health conditions, starting from Mental Health, Peer Relation, Importance of nutrition and cleanliness, in addition to cybersecurity and precautions related to the use of the Internet & Social Media.
Initially, 19 Aspirational districts across Jharkhand have been selected for the programme, which includes Bokaro, Chatra, Dumka, West Singhbhum, Garhwa, Giridih, Godda, Gumla, Hazaribagh, Latehar, Lohardagga, Pakur, Palamu, Ranchi, Sahebganj, Simdega, East Singhbhum, Khunti and Ramgarh. Students of Class 6th to 12th will be trained under the programme with psychological assistance & assessment.
Currently, students of more than 12,000 government School, government-aided schools and other residential schools are being benefitted from the scheme. For the implementation of the programme students & teachers in all these schools have been selected as Health & Wellness Envoy. All these envoys have been trained by expert trainers, to create a culture of cleanliness & hygiene management in the schools. Health & Wellness envoys have been trained in a manner that they can work as a brand ambassador and volunteer in their respective schools.
