The state government’s Women and Child Development Department (DWCD) will soon launch a scheme for the health of children in slum areas. Titled Sach, the scheme will not only regularly monitor their health but also try to provide them medical and nutritional support.

In the first phase, the scheme will be launched in Jhansi division by March 2, where children up to 14, especially girls, will be enrolled.

Subsequently, it will be implemented across the state. The department will ensure that health and development of the child is monitored every week.

Said Kusum Sharma, director DWCD: “The scheme is an extension of our ICDS programme. We will provide support to children living in the slums. We have asked the District Urban Development Authorities (DUDA), who are working in these areas, to help us identify the children.”

“We will take help from the health department for providing free medical aid to the children and supplements like iron and vitamin A,” she added. The enrolled children will also be registered in the Community Health Centre (CHC), where they will receive free treatment.

The department also plans to provide food grain support in slums of the poorest blocks of the state.

“We will take the data from the Planning Commission and the district urban development authority about the number of BPL families living in slums. If they are among the poorest in the district, the children may also be provided with food grain support,” Sharma said.

The department is finalising the cost per child for the scheme and the process of identifying the children.