Deputy Commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad has expressed regret over the fact that because of their illiteracy many poor parents in rural areas do not realise that their infants are malnourished. Speaking after launching the State government- sponsored Bala Sanjeevini scheme at the BLDE Medical College and Hospital here on Thursday, Mr. Shivayogi Kalasad said that the scheme was aimed at providing treatment to malnourished children from BPL families.
Under the Bala Sanjeevini scheme, critically malnourished children of BPL families would be treated in private hospitals and the expenses would be borne by the government. For the purpose, the government has entered into an agreement with many private hospitals.
Mr. Kalasad said that 12 hospitals in the State have started giving treatment to malnourished children aged up to six years.
According to Mr. Kalasad, as the facility was not available in Bijapur, malnourished children of the district were being sent to Bagalkot’s Nijalingappa hospital which is implementing the scheme.
“Now, with the Bala Sanjeevini scheme being implemented in Bijapur, it will help the poor people to get their children treated locally without spending money on travelling to Bagalkot”, he said.
According to Mr. Kalasad, the Department of Women and Child Development has identified 3,650 malnourished children in the district. Two per cent children going to anganwadis have been found to be undernourished. They are being provided nutritious food so that their health improves. Terming malnourishment among children as critical and social problem, Mr. Kalasad stated that it was not merely the job of government but also of the entire society to see that children do not suffer from such an ailment.
In his address, Medical Superintendent of the hospital Shivakumar Hiremath said that the paediatricians have identified 18 critical ailments that malnourishment causes in children. Children of BPL families with such ailments are given treatment worth Rs. 35,000 for free under the scheme.
President of the BLDE Association M.B. Patil, Vice-Chancellor of BLDE University B.G. Mulimani, Deputy Director of the Women and Child Development Department Vasanta Prema and District Health Officer Vishwanath Galagali were among those present.
