Delhi: JP Nadda to launch Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram at 16th CCHFW Conference
New Delhi, June 28
In a significant step towards strengthening newborn and child health services in the country, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda will launch the Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram during the 16th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare to be held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
As per the Health Ministry, the launch will mark a major milestone in advancing the Government's commitment to ensuring comprehensive, accessible and quality healthcare for every child by providing a seamless continuum of home and community-based care from birth to 36 months of age.
SSBSK will carry forward the vision of "Pehle Teen Saal Sampoorn Dekhbhaal", recognising the critical importance of the first three years of life for child survival, growth, nutrition and early brain development.
Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK) will be a unified national programme that will consolidate the two flagship community-based initiatives, Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC), into a single comprehensive framework. By integrating these programmes, SSBSK will ensure continuity of care from birth through the first three years of life, strengthening child survival, nutrition, healthy growth and early childhood development through an integrated approach.
For the first time, the programme will introduce a risk-stratified approach for newborns and children identified as 'At-risk'. These children will receive intensified follow-up through additional home visits based on their level of risk. Under the programme, 'At-risk' newborns will receive up to nine home visits during the first 42 days, while 'At-risk' children will receive up to eight home visits up to 36 months of age.
The programme will further strengthen continuity of care through joint home visits by Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs), Community Health Officers (CHOs) and Anganwadi Workers (AWWs). It will also introduce Well-Baby Sessions at every Village Health, Sanitation and Nutrition Day (VHSND) and a monthly Shishu Shivir at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs for early identification, assessment and management of 'At-risk' children.
SSBSK will incorporate post-partum maternal mental health screening as a structured component of community-based care and will integrate nurturing care for Early Childhood Development (ECD) across all home visits and community contacts by promoting responsive caregiving, early learning, age-appropriate play, child safety and family engagement.
The programme will leverage digital technologies through Decision-Support Systems (DSS), child tracking applications, referral loops and alert mechanisms to strengthen monitoring and continuity of care. These digital systems will be aligned with the JANANI Portal, U-WIN Portal, MPCDSR Portal, RBSK 2.0 Portal and POSHAN Tracker, enabling seamless data exchange and service continuity through ABHA and Baal-ABHA IDs. It will also address home-based care in urban settings through tailored strategies for slum, migrant and underserved populations.
The guidelines will also address emerging challenges of the digital era by promoting age-appropriate play, physical activity and mental stimulation during the first three years of life while recognising the adverse impact of excessive screen time and reduced physical interaction on brain development, emotional health and social skills.
The launch of Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK) will reaffirm the Government's commitment to ensuring accessible, equitable and quality healthcare for every mother and child towards the vision of Viksit Bharat.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Finally, they are consolidating HBNC and HBYC into one programme! Home visits by ASHA and ANM together will definitely improve coordination. But I worry about the digital systems—will ASHA workers in remote areas have the smartphones and internet to use these apps? Let's hope the ground reality matches the vision.
Good step forward! The risk-stratified approach for 'at-risk' children is much needed. In our villages, many newborns miss follow-up visits because no one tracks them properly. The additional 9 home visits in first 42 days could save many lives. But we need more trained ASHA workers—their workload is already huge. 🤔
The emphasis on reducing screen time and promoting age-appropriate play is very relevant today. Many parents hand phones to toddlers without realising the harm. This programme can educate families at the grassroots level. However, I hope the 'Shishu Shivir' sessions are held regularly and not just on paper for record-keeping. 🧒
Nice to see the government focusing on early childhood development. The integration with POSHAN Tracker and U-WIN portal is smart—it can help track every child's health journey. But the real test will be in urban slums and migrant populations. Those areas are often neglected. Let's hope the 'tailored strategies' mentioned actually reach the neediest. 💪
A unified programme sounds promising! I work in community health, and often there is confusion between HBNC and HBYC guidelines. This will simplify training for workers. But I also hope there is a strong monitoring
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.