national health policies for children in brief

1. NATIONAL POLICY FOR
CHILDREN
By-
Ramya deepthi p
Lecturer,
Global kasturba college of nursing

2. INTRODUCTION
• India is home to the largest child population in
the world.
• The Constitution of India guarantees
Fundamental Rights to all children in the
country and empowers the State to make
special provisions for children.
• The State is responsible for ensuring that
childhood is protected from exploitation and
moral and material abandonment.

3. • Declaring its children as the nation’s “supremely
important asset” in the National Policy for Children,
1974, the Government of India reiterated its
commitment to secure the rights of its children by
ratifying related international conventions and treaties.
• These include the Declaration of the Rights of the Child,
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its
Covenants, the Convention on the Rights of the Child
and its two Optional Protocols, the United Nations
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Women and Children, the Hague
Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation
in respect of Inter-Country Adoption, and the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women.

4. National policy 2013
• Every child has universal child rights.
• every child has the right to life, survival, development,
education, protection and participation
• right to life, survival and development goes beyond the
physical existence of the child and also encompasses the
right to identity and nationality
• mental, emotional, cognitive, social and cultural
development of the child is to be addressed in totality
• all children have equal rights and no child shall be
discriminated against on grounds of religion, race, caste,
sex, place of birth, class, language, and disability, social,
economic or any other status

5. Important measures of state
• Improve maternal health care, including antenatal care, safe
delivery by skilled health personnel, post natal care and
nutritional support
• Provide universal access to information and services for making
informed choices related to birth and spacing of children
• Secure the right of the girl child to life, survival, health and
nutrition
• to improve new born and childcare practices at the household
and community level
• Provide universal and affordable access to services for
prevention, treatment, care and management of neo-natal and
childhood illnesses and protect children from all water borne,
vector borne, blood borne, communicable and other childhood
diseases

6. • Prevent disabilities, both mental and physical, through timely
measures for pre-natal, peri-natal and post-natal health and nutrition
care of mother and child, provide services for early detection,
treatment and management
• Prevent HIV infections at birth and ensure infected children receive
medical treatment, adequate nutrition and after-care, and are not
discriminated against in accessing their rights
• Provide adequate safeguards and measures against false claims
relating to growth, development and nutrition
• Provide universal and equitable access to quality Early Childhood
Care and Education (ECCE) for optimal development and active
learning
• Ensure that every child in the age group of 6-14 years is in school
• Promote affordable and accessible quality education up to the
secondary level for all children.
• career counseling and vocational guidance
• rehabilitation of children who are out of school such are child
labourers, trafficked children, street children, abused children etc..
• Ensure physical safety of the child and provide safe and secure
learning environment

7. NATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION FOR
CHILDREN 2005
• Ministry of women and child
welfare has prepared a National
Plan of Action for Children 2005.
• The Prime Minister’s Office is
quarterly monitoring the National
Plan of Action for Children 2005 on
the basis of eight parameters-

8. 1. Reduce IMR to below 30 per 1000 live births
by 2010.
2. Reduce Child Mortality Rate to below 31 per
1000 live births by 2010.
3. To reduce Maternal Mortality Rate to below
100 per 100,000 live births by 2010.
4. Universal equitable access and use of safe
drinking water and improved access to sanitary
means of excreta disposal by 2010.
5. 100% rural population to have access to basic
sanitation by 2012.
6. To eliminate child marriages by 2010
7. To eliminate disability due to poliomyelitis by
2007
8. To reduce the proportion of infants infected
with HIV by 20 percent by 2007 and by 50
percent by 2010, by ensuring that 80 per cent of
pregnant women have access to ante natal care,
and 95 per cent of men and women aged 15-24
have access to care, counseling and other HIV
and prevention services.

9. LEGISLATION RELATED TO CHILDREN
HEALTH AND WELFARE
Legislation - the act of making or enacting laws
• The word Legislation is derived from two Latin
words-
Lex=Law
Latus=Raised

10. Constitutional Provisions
• Article 14 provides that the State shall not deny to any
person equality before the law or the equal protection
of the laws within the territory of India.
• Article 15(3) provides that, “Nothing in this article shall
prevent the State for making any special provision for
women and children.”
• Article 21 provide that no person shall be deprived of
his life or personal liberty except according to
procedure established by law.
• Article 21A directs the State shall provide free and
compulsory education to all children of the age of six to
fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law,
determine.

11. • Article 23 prohibits trafficking of human beings and forced labour.
• Article 24 prohibits employment of children below the age of
fourteen years in factories, mines or any other hazardous
occupation.
• Article 25-28 provides freedom of conscience, and free profession,
practice and propagation of religion.
• Article 39(e) and (f) provide that the State shall, in particular,
direct its policy towards securing to ensure that the health and
strength of workers, men and women and the tender age of
children are not abused and that the citizens are not forced by
economic necessity to enter avocations unsuited to their age or
strength and that the children are given opportunities and facilities
to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom
and dignity and that the childhood and youth are protected
against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
• Article 45 envisages that the State shall endeavor to provide early
childhood care and education for all children until they complete
the age of six years.

12. LEGISLATION
• The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act,
2000.
• The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant
Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution)
Act, 1992.
• The Pre-Conception and Pre-natal Diagnostic
Technique(Prohibition of Sex Selection) Act, 1994.
• The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities,
Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995.
• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956
• The Guardian and Wards Act, 1890.

13. The Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929

14. Section 1: Short title extent and
commencement --
• It extends to the whole of India
(except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir) and it applies also to
all citizen of India without and
beyond India.
• It shall come into force on the
1st day of April, 1930.

15. Section 2: Definitions
(a) "Child" means a person who, if a
male, has not completed twenty one
year of age, and if a female, has not
completed eighteen years of age
(b) "Child marriage" means a marriage
to which either of the contracting
parties is a child;
(c) "Contracting party" to a marriage
means either of the parties whose
marriage is (or is about to be) thereby
solemnized
(d) "Minor" means a person of either sex
who is under eighteen years of age.

16. Section 3: Punishment for male adult below
twenty one years of age marrying a child
Whoever, being a male above
eighteen years of age and
below twenty one, contracts
a child marriage shall be
punishable with simple
imprisonment which may
extend to fifteen days, or
with fine which may extend
to one thousand rupees, or
with both.

17. Section 4: Punishment for male adult
above twenty one years of age marrying a
child
Whoever, being a male
above twenty one years of
age, contracts a child
marriage shall be
punishable with simple
imprisonment which may
extend to three months
and shall also be liable to
fine.

18. Section 5 : Punishment for solemnizing a
child marriage
Whoever performs, conducts
or directs any child marriage
shall be punishable
with simple imprisonment
which may extend to three
months and shall also be
liable to fine unless he
proves that he had reason
to believe that the marriage
was not a child -marriage.

19. STOP CHILD
MARRIAGE

20. The Child Labour (Prohibition and
Regulation) Act, 1986.

21. The Act prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14 years
in hazardous occupations identified in a list by the law. The list was
expanded in 2006, and again in 2008.
1. Prohibition of employment of CHILDREN in certain
occupations and processes
2. Hours and period of work
3. Children are not permitted in the following said area-
a) Passenger’s Goods, transport
b) Weaving
c) Cement manufacturing
d) Dying and printing
e) Explosives
f) Tobacco manufacturing
g) Cleaning ash dumps
4. Maintenance of register

22. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection
of Children) Act, 2000.
The law defines a “juvenile or
child’” as a person who has
not completed their 18th year
of age. In 2000, India raised
the juvenile age to 18 as part
of its obligation under the
United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child,
which it signed in 1992.

23. • Whenever a juvenile is arrested for an alleged
offence, he requires to be immediately produced
before the Juvenile Justice Board.
• The law says that the Board, irrespective of the
offence, should release him on bail, with or without
any surety.
• However, the juvenile must be sent to an
observation home or a "place of safety" by a
speaking order of the Board, explaining the reasons
for not releasing him on bail.
• During the "inquiry" and not a "trial", such
delinquents are to be housed in the observation
home and the "inquiry" has to be completed
within four months.

24. The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding Bottles and Infant
Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and Distribution)
Act, 1992.

25. • An Act to provide for the regulation of production, supply and
distribution of infant milk substitutes, feeding bottles and
infant foods with a view to the protection and promotion of
breast feeding and ensuring the proper use of Infant Foods
and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
This act is apply to the whole of India
• According to section 3, no person shall advertise, take part in
promotion of use or sale, supply of or donate or distribute
infant milk substitutes or feeding bottles, or give an
impression or create a belief in any manner that feeding of
infant milk substitutes is equivalent to or better than
mother's milk.
• Section 6 gave direction that such container of infant foods
and milk substitutes must affix label clearly written in local
language that "Mother's milk is best for your baby", "Should
be used only on the advice of a health worker", " a warning
sign if used replacing mother's milk".

26. • No picture of baby or mother shall be depicted on the
containers.
• Beside this all about manufacturing date, batch
number, expiry date, compositions, etc. should also be
written and must follow the instructions and guidelines
given under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
1954 (Sec 11).
• All educational material whether audio, or visual shall
contain the content of benefits and superiority of
breast feeding (Sec 7).
• No person other than health workers or institutions
demonstrate the need and feeding of milk substitute
(Sec 8).
• Food inspector working under Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act or any authorized person shall be
responsible for inspection or seizing activities if he/she
finds that there is violation of this Act.

27. The Pre-Conception and Pre-natal
Diagnostic Technique(Prohibition of Sex
Selection) Act, 1994.

28. • It is an federal legislation enacted by
the Parliament of India to stop
female foeticides and arrest the declining sex ratio
in India. The act banned prenatal sex determination

29. Main provisions in the act are-
• The Act provides for the prohibition of sex
selection, before or after conception.
• It regulates the use of pre-natal diagnostic
techniques, like ultrasound and amniocentesis by
allowing them their use only to detect :
– genetic abnormalities
– metabolic disorders
– chromosomal abnormalities
– certain congenital malformations
– haemoglobinopathies
• Sex linked disorders

30. • No laboratory or centre or clinic will conduct any test
including ultrasonography for the purpose of
determining the sex of the foetus.
• No person, including the one who is conducting the
procedure as per the law, will communicate the sex of
the foetus to the pregnant woman or her relatives by
words, signs or any other method.
• Any person who puts an advertisement for pre-natal
and pre-conception sex determination facilities in the
form of a notice, circular, label, wrapper or any
document, or advertises through interior or other
media in electronic or print form or engages in any
visible representation made by means of hoarding, wall
painting, signal, light, sound, smoke or gas, can be
imprisoned for up to three years and fined Rs. 10,000.

32. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal
Opportunities, Protection of Rights and
Full Participation) Act, 1995.
• In this act disability is defined as blindness, low vision, leprosy-cured,
hearing impairment, loco-motor disability, mental retardation and mental
illness.
• According to this act, children with disabilities should be provided free
education by the appropriate government.
• The government must take steps to integrate children with disabilities into
regular schools, but also make space for special schools that cater expressly
to the needs of these children.
• In addition to the basic education schools, government are also required to
make non-formal education programmes for children with disabilities.
• The Government must also set up schemes that provide children with
disabilities grant and scholarships and also provide funds for making
buildings disabled friendly.
• Educational institutions are also required to provide visually challenged
students with aids who will write for them.