Navigating the Future: Redefining Adolescent Healthcare Landscape in India
Swasthya Samvaad
February 29th, 2024
The Park, New Delhi
Cantered around cross-learning, collaboration, and collective action, Swasthya Samvaad drove a seminal discourse to cogitate and enhance health outcomes for the world’s largest adolescent population. With access and awareness as cornerstones, the event explored cross-disciplinary strategies in the realm of mental health, anemia, malnutrition, and sexual and reproductive health, amongst others, for adolescents.
“The status of being a young country also comes with a huge responsibility for the government of India to ensure good health and well-being for young people. Starting from adolescent health and sexual reproductive policy in 2006 to launching a dedicated program Rashtriya Kishore Swasthya Karyakram in 2014, our initiatives are quite comprehensive and cover a gamut of interventions for adolescents. The ministry is also forging strategic partnerships with other related ministries, development partners, and key stakeholders, to strengthen the existing linkages and create new opportunities. Such interventions will help maximize the efforts, resources, and impact, going a long way in establishing comprehensive review mechanisms.” Dr Zoya Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare
Helmed by AIF’s flagship award-winning Public Health Program – Maternal And Newborn Survival Initiative (MANSI), Swasthya Samvaad brought together over 100 luminaries including government officials, medical practitioners, policymakers, corporations, and thought leaders for a stimulating dialogue on the critical need for convergence in the public-private sector, towards laying the foundation of a healthier nation.
The eminent speakers consisted of thought leaders such as Dr. Zoya Ali Rizvi, Deputy Commissioner, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, GOI; Dr Sumita Ghosh, Officer on Special Duty (Health), NITI Aayog; Dr. Parul Goel, Additional Chief Medical Officer, Pauri Garhwal, National Health Mission – Uttarakhand; Dr. Neena Bhatia, Professor – Department of Food & Nutrition, Lady Irwin College; Dr. Vismay Bharai State Nodal Officer, Adolescent Health, National Health Mission, Gujarat; Sanjay Kumar, Executive Assistant – RKSK, National Health Mission – Jharkhand; Vandana Nair, Lead – Adolescent and Young People, Center for Catalyzing Change (C3); Amit Kumar, Head – Community Health cluster, Tata Steel Foundation; Dr. Chethana Thirthahalli, Lead – Health, HCL Foundation; Dr. Priyanka Kochar, Lead – Adolescent & Youth Programs, EngenderHealth; Mathew Joseph, Country Director, American India Foundation and Dr. Mahesh Srinivas, Director – Public Health, American India Foundation, among others.
Adolescents grapple with a spectrum of issues during their growth and experience health conditions and diseases that are both preventable and treatable. WHO estimates that roughly half of all mental health disorders in adulthood originate before the age of 14, yet many cases go undetected and untreated. Adolescents continue to face issues related to malnutrition, with the added emergence of anemia as a significant health worry. The first session at the event ‘A Tale of ‘Transition’: A Deep Dive into Information and Services for Comprehensive Adolescent Healthcare’ delved into strategies to tackle anemia and malnutrition, sexual and reproductive health, drawing perspectives and learnings from various states, institutions, and digital platforms.
“Digital interventions empower India’s SRH scalability, bypass gatekeeping, and spark vital conversations. They offer adolescents a shame-free platform to access and assimilate crucial information and break down complicated medical information, leading to a screening and service uptake.” Arti Shukla, Director Strategy – Development Consortium
Bringing adolescents as essential partners in practice, the second session ‘Charcha: ‘Through the Lens of Adolescents’ – Personal Journeys, and Inspirational Stories’ united adolescents and youth from the hinterlands of Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh, to share their anecdotal experiences of debunking myths, misconceptions and societal norms, to take control of their own health, nutrition and sexual choices. With their meaningful inclusion, the event aimed to empower, engage, and envision their purposeful participation in systems, institutions, and policies that affect them.
Poor adolescent health can have a profound impact on education, creating a detrimental cycle where one exacerbates the other. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which seek to achieve global economic, social, and environmental sustainable development by 2030, will not be realized without investment in adolescent health and well-being. The third session ‘Alliance for Adolescents: Collective Commitment to Health Equity’ emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships, intersectoral coordination, and convergence and called for a paradigm shift in approaches to ensure a comprehensive and integrated response.
“We must connect the dots, integrating state missions, RKSK programs, and various components into a seamless network of care, prevention, referral, follow-up, and promotion. Integration, not silos, is the key to holistic adolescent healthcare.” Dr Smita Ghosh, Officer of Special Duty (Health), NITI Aayog
The MANSI Program is strategically designed to improve home-based care for newborns, pregnant and lactating women, adolescents, and children under five, to mitigate morbidity during these crucial stages, ultimately working towards a reduction in maternal and child mortality. Under the ambit of MANSI, adolescents are one of the key target groups. Through critical life skills education on sexual and reproductive health, nutrition, mental health, substance abuse, gender-based violence, early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and non-communicable diseases, the program empowers adolescents with agency and access to health services.
Swasthya Samvaad is a pivotal forum for fostering dialogues, and innovative approaches and catalyzing collaborations with ecosystem stakeholders to fortify public health initiatives in India.
