Lok Sabha Question No. 2148 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-29
Subject: Kishori Health Card Scheme
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Janardan Singh Sigriwal, Pashupati Nath Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA UN STARRED QUESTION NO. 2148

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.07.2022

## KISHORI HEALTH CARD SCHEME

## 2148.  SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL: SHRI PASHUPATI NATH SINGH:

Will the Minister of WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  implementing  Kishori  Health  Card  Scheme  in  the country;
- (b) if so, the details and salient features thereof;
- (c) whether this scheme is being implemented in all States of the country, if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  adolescents  who  are  facing  menstrual  problem  are  being  supported through the said scheme and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the  other  measures  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  address  the  health problem of adolescent girls?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT (SHRIMATI SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)  to  (c)   To  ensure  well-being  of  adolescent  girls,  Government  is  administering  the Scheme for Adolescent Girls (SAG) under which nutritional and non-nutritional support is being provided to adolescent girls (AGs). Earlier the Scheme covered out-of-school AGs in the age group of 11-14 years. Under the said Scheme, Kishori Health Cards for AGs were maintained at the Anganwadi Centre (AWC) to record the information about the weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI), along with the services provided to the AG under the scheme. The details of achievements/success made under the scheme were marked  on  Kishori  Card  and  the  card  also  carried  important  milestones  of  AGs  life. However, the earlier Scheme has been discontinued since 31.03.2022 and the revised SAG  Scheme  has  been  introduced  and  subsumed  under  Saksham  Anganwadi  & Poshan 2.0. The targeted beneficiaries under the revised scheme are AGs in the age group of 14-18 years in Aspirational Districts of States including Assam and NE States.

(d) & (e) Government  is  administering  the  Scheme  for  Promotion  of  Menstrual Hygiene among Adolescent Girls(AGs) in the age group of 10-19 years since 2011 with specific objective of ensuring health for adolescent girls.  The major objectives of the Scheme are:

- i. To increase awareness among adolescent girls on menstrual hygiene;
- ii. To increase access to and use of high quality sanitary napkins to adolescent girl;
- iii. To ensure safe disposal of sanitary napkins in an environmentally friendly manner.

Since 2015-16, the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme is supported by National Health Mission  through  State  Programme  Implementation  Plan  (PIP)  route  based  on  the proposals  received  from  the  States.  States/UTs  have  decentralized  procurement  of sanitary  napkins  for  ensuring  quality  standards.  The  sanitary  napkins  are  sold  to  the adolescent  girls  at  subsidized  rates  by  the  Accredited  Social  Health  Activist  (ASHA). Community  awareness  is  carried  out  through  mass  media  activities  and  ASHA outreach.

Further,  to  break  the  inter  generational  cycle  of  anemia,  the  Government  is implementing  Weekly  Iron  and  Folic  Acid  Supplementation  (WIFS)  which  entails provision of  weekly supervised IFA tablets to the in-school adolescent boys and girls and out of-school adolescent girls along with biannual albendazole tablets for helminthic control  for  prevention  of  iron  and  folic  acid  deficiency  anemia.  The  programme  is implemented across the country both in rural and urban areas, covering government, government  aided  and  municipal  schools  and  Anganwadi  Centres.  Screening  of targeted adolescent population for moderate/ severe anemia and referral of these cases to  an  appropriate  health  facility  and  information  and  counseling  for  prevention  of nutritional anemia are also included in the programme.

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