Pune: on the city streets, 35,000 little ones grapple with big problems every day - from basic survival to illness and physical abuse. Paediatricians who are members of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), Pune, are keen to change this. They have started out by monitoring the health of the children as part of the Child Abuse, Neglect and Child Labour (CANCL) plan adopted at IAP's national meet in Bangalore in January.
A team identifies the children, who are then given an identity card which can be used for free medical treatment and vaccination. Dr. Vasant Dhamal, IAP President Pune, says "The aim of the drive is to reach out to neglected, deprived, and abused children for their comprehensive needs including health care, education, rehabilitation and protection”. Currently, the doctors are concentrating on increasing the immunisation tally. "The children are administered a single dose of a single vaccine to cover several ailments like DPT (diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus), MMT (measles, mumps, rubella) Hepatitis B and polio. All doses are being supplied free of cost by Serum India”, explains Dilip Sarda, IAP Secretary.
A survey of street children in the city is also being simultaneously carried out. Dr. Sarda says the children are mostly part of a floating population. Since most of them are mostly runaways, they live on sidewalks, railway platforms, under flyovers; others live in shanty colonies with their families. A majority of them suffer from diseases like scabies, diarrhoea and malnutrition. "Begging and rag-picking are two occupations they take up to survive, but sometimes they pick up bad habits like Gutka (chewing tobacco) and even using narcotics", Sarda says. Serious illnesses like Hepatitis b, Leptospirosis and even HIV are not uncommon.CANCL plans to send a batch of 50 children to Jana Seva, a city-based NGO for rehabilitation and vocational training, besides opening piggy bank accounts for those children who earn some income.
