Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram

Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram Latest News

Recently, the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK).

About Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram

• It is a unified national programme that provides a seamless continuum of home and community-based care for every child from birth to 36 months of age.
• The programme embodies the vision of Comprehensive care during the first three years.
• It integrates the existing Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) programmes into a single comprehensive framework.

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Feature of Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram

• Risk-stratified Approach: It introduces a risk-stratified approach, providing intensified follow-up for newborns and children identified as “at-risk”, due to conditions such as low birth weight, prematurity, delayed initiation of breastfeeding etc
  • Under the programme, ‘At-risk’ newborns will receive up to nine home visits during the first 42 days of life, while ‘At-risk’ children will receive up to eight home visits up to the age of 36 months.
• Community Platforms: It introduces Well-Baby Sessions at every Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) and a monthly Shishu Shivir at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs.
• Maternal Mental Health: It incorporates post-partum maternal mental health screening as an integral component of community-based care.
  • ASHAs will undertake early screening and facilitate timely referral for further assessment and support whenever necessary.
• Early Childhood Development It also mainstreams Nurturing Care for Early Childhood Development (ECD) by promoting responsive caregiving, early learning opportunities, age-appropriate play.
• Technology & Digital Integration: It envisages the extensive use of digital technologies to enhance service delivery, monitoring and continuity of care.
  • Decision-Support Systems (DSS), child-wise digital tracking, referral mechanisms and alert systems will strengthen follow-up and case management of ‘At-risk’ newborns and children. 
  • These digital systems will be integrated with the JANANI Portal, U-WIN Portal, MPCDSR Portal, RBSK 2.0 Portal and POSHAN Tracker, enabling seamless data exchange through ABHA and Baal-ABHA IDs.
• Tailored Strategy: It includes tailored strategies to strengthen home-based care in urban areas, particularly for children residing in slums, migrant settlements and other underserved communities.

Source: PIB