Maharashtra is set to be the first state to identify specific policy provisions and plan of action for five vulnerable categories of children as per the draft of the Maharashtra State Policy and Action Plan for Children, 2023, which recommends free primary health care services.
The categories are those belonging to backward and minority communities, urban poor, affected by migration and disabilities, and transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) children.
The draft policy has also considered the impact of climate change on children and suggested policies and action plans for a child-centric approach to disaster management and climate change adaptation. The policy and action plan is based on four thematic areas — health, nutrition and wellbeing; education and development; child protection and child participation.
The key recommendations of the policy are universal, free, and comprehensive primary health care services for all aspects of reproductive, maternal, child and adolescent health and universal and equitable access to quality education for all children.
For children from SC, ST, NT/DNT and minority communities, the draft has recommended steps to end discrimination based on gender, religion, caste, economic and social background; measures to prevent and protect children from all forms of violence; encourage interaction among children from diverse backgrounds to break stereotypes, ensure regular dialogue and sensitisation of diverse culture; provide strong social security system and basic amenities and programmatic services like housing, road connectivity, healthcare and water, etc.
The policy has suggested supporting rehabilitation till adult age to children with disabilities (CWDs), ensuring food security and fulfilment of special nutritional needs of children with disabilities, ensuring inclusive education by making school processes, activities and infrastructure CWD friendly, measures to eliminate stigma and discrimination by creating an inclusive socio-ecological environment.
For children of urban poor communities, it has suggested inclusion of children’s rights in all urban policies, build child-friendly cities, provision of child care services such creches, free and quality education, safety and protection of homeless children and formation of child protection committees at ward level.
The policy has recommended simplifying the process of identity documents for children with migrating families along with food security with access to public distribution system (PDS) at destination site, quality reproductive and regular health services for migrant girls and women and ensuring right to education.
The policy seeks to provide quality physical and mental health services, including counselling, to TGNC children, preventing violence against them by adequate response and redressal mechanism, sensitising families, neighbourhoods and communities so as to prevent desertion, abandonment and corrective violence against TGNC children and also to break stereotypes and address misconceptions. It has also recommended to adopt an integrated, multi-sectoral, community-focused and child-centric approach to disaster management and climate change adaptation, active measures to reduce all forms of pollution.
Maharashtra’s previous child policy was prepared in 2014. “Since then there have been legal and policy developments and commitments at national and international level, which created the need to have a new Child Policy,” the official from the Women and Child Welfare department said, adding that the new policy is presently in the discussion state and may be presented in the upcoming winter session of the state legislature.
Source : Indian Express
