National Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme

• Launched on July 17, 2013, the National Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Programme aims to combat iron deficiency anemia, a widespread issue among adolescents aged 10–19 years in India. This program is an essential step toward enhancing adolescent health and empowerment. 

  Key Features of the Program: 

  • Target Group: 
    Covers adolescent boys and girls across government and aided schools and Anganwadi centers. 
  • Supplement Distribution: 
    Provides free Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) tablets to prevent anemia. 
  • Weekly Monitoring: 
    Usage of IFA tablets is monitored weekly to ensure compliance. 
  • Health Services and Referrals: 
    Adolescents showing signs of anemia are screened and referred to appropriate health services. 
  • Deworming Initiatives: 
    Includes biannual deworming to address intestinal infections that contribute to anemia. 
  • Education and Awareness: 
    • Promotes iron-rich foods and a balanced diet. 
    • Conducts nutrition and health education sessions to increase awareness. 

  This initiative has benefited over 11.2 crore adolescents, marking significant progress in addressing anemia. By integrating health education, supplementation, and preventive care, it represents a crucial step toward building a healthier and more empowered younger generation. 

Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA)

• The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) was launched in June 2016 with the primary goal of reducing maternal and infant mortality rates through timely medical checkups and follow-ups for pregnant women. This scheme emphasizes ensuring healthy pregnancies and safe deliveries. 

  Key Features of PMSMA: 

  • Target Group: The scheme focuses on pregnant women in their second and third trimesters. Free medical checkups are conducted for all beneficiaries at government hospitals and health centers on the 9th of every month. 
  • Health Concerns Addressed: Pregnant women are prone to issues like high blood pressure, hormonal imbalances and diabetes, which necessitate regular and thorough medical examinations. PMSMA ensures access to these essential checkups, aiming for the delivery of healthy babies. 
  • Registration Process: 
    • Eligible beneficiaries are registered in a separate registry. 
    • Accredited Nurse Midwives (ANMs) ensure that all required laboratory tests are conducted prior to specialist consultations. 
  • Follow-Up Tests: For additional or specific tests, ANMs or Multi-Purpose Workers (MPWs) are responsible for sample collection, reporting results, and coordinating follow-ups. 
  • Counseling Services: Before leaving healthcare facilities, pregnant women receive detailed information on rest, nutrition, safety, preparation for delivery, institutional delivery and post-delivery care either individually or in groups. 

  This initiative provides comprehensive healthcare to pregnant women, ensuring early detection and management of complications, thereby promoting safe motherhood.

Intranet

• An intranet is a private network of computers within an organization that uses Internet Protocol (IP) technology to facilitate the exchange of information and ensure network security. The main objective of an intranet is to enable secure communication among employees while keeping the organization's data protected. Intranet systems connect all computers within an organization, allowing them to share information securely without the risk of external access. 

  Intranet systems typically work with Local Area Networks (LAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN). This integration allows private data sharing between different locations and offices within the organization. The intranet provides a centralized environment where all employees can access shared resources, making communication and collaboration more efficient. 

  • There are two key portals used in an intranet system: 
  1. Intranet Portal: This portal integrates internal information and ensures that all employees within the organization can access important enterprise data. It plays a critical role in organizing and distributing information across the network for internal use. 
  2. Enterprise Portal (EPI): Often referred to as the Enterprise Information Portal, this is primarily used to share information with external stakeholders or the outside world. It provides a secure access point and a web-based user interface, ensuring that only authorized users can access sensitive data. It may also restrict actions like copying or downloading information to maintain data security.

National Child Health Program

• The National Child Health Program, launched in February 2013 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is a significant step toward achieving universal health coverage in India. It aims to provide comprehensive healthcare to children aged 0–18 years. 

  Key Features of the Program: 

  • Objective: Early detection and treatment of 30 specific health conditions in children, categorized into: 
    • Birth defects 
    • Deficiencies (such as anemia, malnutrition) 
    • Childhood diseases 
    • Developmental delays, including disabilities 
  • Coverage: 
    • Children from birth to 6 years in rural areas and urban slums. 
    • Students enrolled in Classes 1–12 in government and government-aided schools. 
  • Integration with Existing Initiatives: 
    • This program is an extension of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) and incorporates the School Health Program, broadening its scope to cover a larger demographic. 
  • Screening & Diagnosis: 
    • Known as Child Health Testing and Early Diagnosis Service, it focuses on early detection to ensure timely intervention. 
  • Pilot Launch: 
    • The program was initially launched in Palghar, Maharashtra, as a model for national implementation. 

  By focusing on early diagnosis and intervention, this program addresses critical health issues in children, promoting better outcomes and supporting their overall development.

Common Thinking Processes in Children

• Understanding the cognitive development in children involves exploring various facets of their thinking process: 

  1. Manifestation and Expression: 
     • Children begin their cognitive journey by perceiving and interpreting the world around them from both physical and psychological perspectives. 
     • Initially, their understanding is based on sensory experiences like sight, touch, and sound, but later, it includes emotional and cognitive views. 
  2. Conceptualization: 
     • As children grow, they start forming basic concepts related to weight, time, distance, and numbers. 
     • These foundational concepts lay the groundwork for abstract thinking, enabling them to understand complex ideas, cause and effect, and spatial reasoning. 
  3. Experience: 
     • Children learn significantly through personal experiences, both positive and negative. 
     • Interactions with their environment help them develop frameworks to understand themselves and the world around them. 
  4. Interests and Curiosity: 
     • Driven by innate curiosity, children explore their surroundings, asking questions and seeking knowledge. 
     • This exploration fosters creativity, problem-solving, and critical thinking by challenging existing ideas and motivating them to think outside the box. 
  5. Copying and Imitation: 
     • Imitation plays a vital role in children’s cognitive development. They learn societal norms, behaviors, and roles by copying adults, peers, or authority figures. 
     • This process helps refine their thinking, as they adapt their behavior to different social contexts and environments. 
  6. Logic and Reasoning: 
     • As children mature, they develop logical thinking and reasoning skills to solve problems, recognize patterns, and evaluate outcomes. 
     • Language development plays a key role in reasoning, as it enables children to articulate thoughts, engage in deeper reflection, and enhance cognitive analysis. 

  In summary, children’s thinking processes evolve through sensory experiences, conceptual development, curiosity-driven exploration, imitation, and logical reasoning, laying the foundation for independent thought and problem-solving.