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 Pratham
Health was started in Mumbai in August 1999, to tackle some
of the most wide spread health problems among the Balwadi
children namely anemia, worm, infestation and Vitamin A deficiency.
An early pilot study of 250 children revealed that over 90%
were anemic, over 70% were malnourished and over 50% suffered
from vitamin deficiency. Based on these findings, Pratham
Health drafted a simple program of micronutrient intervention,
which was adopted by the Niramaya Health Foundation (NHF).
NHF was founded in June 2001 to expand and manage the health
activities of the Pratham Mumbai Education Initiative. NHF
continues to implement Pratham's health interventions in Mumbai.
Subsequently, in response to the
felt needs of the communities served, NHF introduced two programs
for older children - Reach Out Program and Adolescent Family
Life Education. NHF is also very active in providing health
education to parents of Balwadi children, children in the
"Reach out" program and to Balwadi teachers. Special
Nutrition Education with cooking demonstration and importance
of locally available produce is imparted to the mothers in
improving the malnourished status of their children.
A programme for Balwadi children is also being implemented
Delhi, funded by ICICI, with the aim of assessing, among others,
the effect of a medical intervention delivered through preschools
on the educational outcomes, including preschool attendance
rates, primary school entry rates, and academic test scores.
The salient features of this programme are:
Basic health interventions through Balwadis for children
whose parents agree to participate
Each child is checked for weight and height every 3
months
Children given Vitamin A, iron supplements, and de-worming
medication in 3-month cycles
The medication is given by the pre-school instructor,
under the supervision of a Health Trainer Monitor (TM)
Health TMs are periodically trained in matters of general
health and are now beginning to focus on issues of reproductive
health.
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