Chennai: Tamil Nadu has largely solved the problem of children surviving due to wastage, but hasn’t managed to keep them thriving, said health minister K G Arunraj on Thursday, announcing measures taken by the state to make sure children with developmental delays get treatment.The minister, who was speaking at a workshop by Press Information Bureau and Unicef, was referring to National Family Health Survey 6 (2023-24) that showed wasting among children under five years old rose from 14.6% in the previous round (2019-21) to 17.4%, while stunting fell from 25% to 20.7%. Tamil Nadu’s infant mortality rate was 11 per 1,000 live births in 2024, against 24 for India.The state’s 805 mobile health teams screen children and refer those needing further care to 34 district early intervention centres. Village health nurses and anganwadi workers will monitor development in the first 1,000 days, so delays surface at 18 months, not at school admission. “A delay identified at an anganwadi and never seen at the intervention centre is not a success. It is a child we found and then lost,” he said.The department will publish how many children who were flagged received therapy, and how quickly, he said. “That is the number I will be asking my officers for, and it is the number I invite you to ask me for,” he said.Meanwhile, public health officials presented results of a pilot programme that added growth and developmental checks to routine vaccination visits at two blocks in Tiruvallur. Between March and July, health workers screened 2,756 of the 2,773 children who attended vaccination sessions in Gummidipoondi and Ellapuram.The teams flagged 39 children for further assessment. Among them, 19 had growth faltering, nine had developmental delays and an equal number of children had birth defects. Two children had diseases, said state National Health Mission additional director Dr K Vinay Kumar. All 39 were referred, and recorded outcomes included treatment, continued observation and assessment finding the child normal, he said.
About The Author
