Ghaziabad: Free treatment for kids with malnutrition in private hospitals

GHAZIABAD: From now, children below two years of age and suffering from acute malnutrition (red category) will not only be provided with free treatment by private hospitals but also be given a balanced diet till they become medically fit.
The district has 2,425 children in the red category and district magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said the administration is planning to connect such children with private hospitals in each block, apart from the government clinic.
A Kaushambi-based private hospital has announced the adoption of 500 children who would be given free treatment and food, the DM added. Of the 2,425 children, 250 have been traced to Rajapur block, 263 in Bhojpur, 186 in Muradnagar and 257 in Loni.
According to the State Nutrition Mission, infants who weigh less than 2.5 kg at the time of birth are classified in the red category. They are to be kept under regular check-ups and their weight is monitored every month. The government also provides them with sweet/salty porridge and other food items. When the weight goes above 2.5 kg, the child is put in the yellow category. At two years, if a child weighs around 5 kg, it is considered in the general category.
“Private hospitals will adopt children and provide them with medical care and nutritional food free of cost. We will treat these children as ‘VVIPs’. We are talking to private hospitals. So far, Yashoda Hospital, Kaushambi, has given its nod,” Pandey told TOI. “We are trying to ensure that no child remains in the red category by the end of this month.”
A meeting of private hospitals and administrative officials will be convened on Thursday to discuss the initiative.