Haryana Government has decided to provide newborn care kit to all newborns delivered in public health institutions under the Deen Dayal Navjat Shishu Suraksha Yojana.
The scheme is likely to provide benefit to about 2.9 lakhs newborns delivered in the public healthcare institutions and cost the state exchequer about Rs 32.09 crore annually.
This scheme is launched to mark the centenary birth anniversary of RSS leader Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, said Health Minister Anil Vij on Monday.
He said this initiative of the State Government would be a tribute to Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya who became an orphan at the age of eight years and lived his early life in misery and struggle, but reached great heights in the service of the nation.
Under this initiative, the National Health Mission and the Haryana Government would soon provide maternal and newborn care kits, said Vij.
“The main objective of the scheme is to promote hygiene and sanitation among mothers and newborns, and help in the development of the newborn. It will be a great boon to the families who are poor and find it difficult to purchase dress, diapers and sanitizer or soap for the care of newborn. Besides contributing to the feel-good factor for the mother, it will also help the family tide over the first few days after birth”, said the Health Minister.
Amit Jha, Principal Secretary, Health, said this initiative would indeed be a great news for all newborns and their mothers delivering in the public health care institutions in Haryana. Providing the newborn care kit under Deen Dayal Navjat Shishu Suraksha Yojana is in sync with the state’s commitment to reduce the neonatal and child mortality to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), said he.
This SDG aims at ending preventable deaths of newborns and children under five years of age, reducing neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births, and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births by 2030, he added.
Currently, the Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) and Under Five Mortality Rate in Haryana is 24 and 43 per thousand live births, respectively. The initiative will be another step forward in ensuring universal health coverage in the wider domain of social security, Jha added.
Mission Director, National Health Mission, Amneet P Kumar, said mothers of the babies born in government hospitals would receive the kit which would have 16 items, including towels, newborn dress, mosquito net, blanket, baby cap, socks, pack of wipes, napkins, diapers, soap for bathing the newborn, sanitizers, soap for hand washing, kangaroo mother care gown for mothers, nail cutter for the newborn, toy, moisturizer and a bag for keeping all items.