The National Health Mission (NHM) of Nagaland has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with hospitals in Guwahati and Imphal under the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), a child health screening and early intervention programme under NHM.

According to an official release on May 17, the MoUs were signed with Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya, a tertiary eye-care hospital and an institute of ophthalmology based in Guwahati and Shija Hospitals and Research Institute Imphal, a premier hospital providing  secondary and tertiary healthcare. While Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya provides free treatment and management services for congenital cataract and Retinopathy of Prematuritity (RoP) in children of 0-18 years, Shija Hospitals will provide services for operation of cleft lip and cleft palate, developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), congenital cataract, congenital deafness, retinopathy of prematurity under RBSK for the same age group.

The National Health Mission, Nagaland has been implementing RBSK in Nagaland since 2013. It aims at early detection and  management of 4Ds prevalent in the children free of cost – Defects at birth, Diseases, Deficiency and Developmental Delays including Disabilities. The programme has been initiated to improve child survival and quality of life, the release stated, adding further gains can be achieved by early detection and management of conditions in all age groups. Screening of the 4Ds is done by the RBSK Mobile Health Teams during screening at AWC centers and government schools across the State. Screening will also be done at the District Hospitals in collaboration with the empanelled hospitals.

To mark the beginning of the MoU, Shija Hospitals along with the Department of Health & Family Welfare, Nagaland will be conducting a free heart screening on June 2 either at District Hospital Mokokchung or Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima for all age groups. For this, confirmation of the venue will be made known to the public very shortly, the release added.