BBMP to screen malnourished, dengue-hit kids

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will conduct a special drive to screen malnourished and dengue affected children from August 19 to 23.

Briefing the media here on Monday, BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana said that the special drive would be launched at Dasappa Hospital near Town Hall on August 19.

On the same day, an awareness camp for doctors, paramedical staff and health workers would be organised at the Rajkumar Glass House at the BBMP head office, he said.

The commissioner said that children coming under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) would be screened from August 19 to August 22, while children not included under the ICDS would be tested on August 23.

Lakshminarayana said that the camp had been organised following reports about rise in cases of dengue among children in the City. He admitted that the child who died at Adugodi had dengue symptoms. But he denied that the recent death of a child at the BBMP Colony was due to a vector-borne disease.

Health services

The commissioner further said that the BBMP provided health services in 135 wards in and around core Bangalore whereas in the remaining 63 wards, health services were provided by the Health and Family Welfare Department. Similarly, anganwadi coverage within the BBMP limits was a mere 20 per cent.

To cover the remaining 80 per cent of the area, health services is provided by specialist doctors, he said.

He said that there were about seven lakh children in the City who would be screened during these five days.

Eight such camps held

He added that from July 5, 2012 to April 24 this year, eight such camps were organised where 3,837 malnourished children were identified.

While 3,371 children were found to be in normal condition, the other 466 children needed immediate medical care.

Of these 466 children, the condition of 12 children was severe and they were admitted in the National Referral Centres (NRC). The programme at Dasappa Hospital will be presided over by Justice N K Patil of Karnataka High Court while the District In-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy, Mayor B S Satyanarayana and other Palike council members will also attend the event.