Lok Sabha Question No. 4902 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-04-01
Subject: Mental Health of Children
Ministry: WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Gaurav Gogoi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WOMEN AND CHILD DEVELOPMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UN-STARRED QUESTION NO.4902

TO BE ANSWERED ON 01.04.2022

## MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN

4902. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

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

:

- (a) whether the Ministry has studied the effects of the pandemic and continued lockdowns on the mental health of children and adolescents, if so, the details and findings thereof;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to train Anganwadi Workers to address the mental health issues at the initial stage;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken towards creating awareness and action in the field of infant mental health; and
- (d) the details of the developmental schemes meant for children and adolescents and  manner  in  which  the  implementation  has  been  adapted  to  suit  the pandemic situation?

## ANSWER

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

(a) :  As informed by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, a number of initiatives have  been  taken  on  the  mental  health  of  the  people  including  children  and adolescents while realizing the impact of pandemic which include  :

- i. Setting up of a 24/7 helpline to provide psychosocial support, by mental health professionals,  to  the  entire  affected  population,  divided  into  different  target groups viz children, adult, elderly, women and healthcare workers.
- ii. Advocacy through various media platforms in the form of creative and audiovisual materials on managing stress and anxiety, and promoting an environment of support and care for all.
- iii. Issuance and dissemination of detailed guidelines by the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru- ''Mental Health in the  times  of  COVID-19  Pandemic  -  Guidance  for  General  Medical  and Specialized Mental Health Care Settings''.

(b) & (c) : SAMVAD (Support, Advocacy & Mental health interventions for children in Vulnerable  circumstances  And  Distress)  -  NIMHANS  has  developed  a  Training Programme  on  Integrating  Child  Protection  and  Mental  Health  Services  at  the community-level  through  Panchayat  Raj  Institutions,  under  the  Mission  Vatsalya

Convergence  framework,  and  has  completed  training  of  Master  Trainers  which  is inclusive  of  the  vulnerability  and  risk  issues  in  child  protection,  as  created  by  the pandemic, aims to reach anganwadi workers too.

(d)  :  The  Ministry  of  Women  and  Child  Development  is  implementing  a  centrally sponsored  scheme  namely  Child  Protection  Services  (CPS)  Scheme  under  which support is provided to States and UT Governments for delivering services for children in need of care and difficult circumstances. The Ministry also issued advisories and guidelines for encouraging COVID appropriate behaviour, monitoring of Child Care Institutions and coping strategies during COVID times for ensuring regular supply of food, water etc., to the children living in CCIs.  A responsibility matrix defining role of primary duty holders at all levels from State to Panchayati Raj Institutions was also shared with States/UTs.

Anganwadi Services  (under  Saksham  Anganwadi  and  Poshan  2.0  Scheme) covers  the  children  in  the  age  group  of  0-6  years,  pregnant  women  &  lactating mothers  and  adolescent  girls  in  the  age  group  of  14-18  years.  Functioning  of Anganwadi Centres during Covid-19 circumstances was permitted as per guidelines issued  by  Government  for  distribution  of  food  items  and  nutrition  support  by Anganwadi Workers, once in 15 days, at the doorstep of beneficiaries, i.e., children, women and lactating mothers to ensure continuous nutritional support. Further, steps have been  taken to enable delivering of essential health services including vaccination services during the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development in collaboration with National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) has established a National Initiative  &  Integrated  Resource  Centre  for  Child  Protection,  Mental  Health,  and Psychosocial Care named 'SAMVAD' (Support Advocacy & Mental Health Interventions for Children in Vulnerable Circumstances and Distress) in NIMHANS, at Bangalore.   SAMVAD  is  working  in  4  key  thematic  areas,  namely  Mental  Health, Care  &  Protection,  Education  and  Policy  &  Law.  SAMVAD  has  conducted  various training and capacity building programs  and  through public discourse series conducted via Virtual Knowledge Network Systems.

Further,  the  Ministry  of  Health  &  Family  Welfare  has  launched  the  National Mental  Health  Programme  (NMHP)  to  generate  awareness  among  masses  about mental illnesses information, Education and Communication (IEC) activities.  At the District level, sufficient funds are provided to Districts under the District Mental Health Programme  (DMHP)  under  the  Non-communicable  Diseases  flexi-pool  of  National Health  Mission  for  IEC  and  awareness  generation  activities  in  the  community, schools,  workplaces,  with  community  involvement.  Under  the  DMHP  various  IEC activities such as awareness messages in local newspapers and radio, street plays, wall paintings etc. are undertaken by the State/UTs.

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