Adolescent Health

“The prime innovations regarding adolescent health has been in the field of information, communication, behavioral change, adolescent friendly health services at the Primary Health Care level and school based interventions needs attention and support of various stakeholders. MPVHA believes that empowering of adolescents can improve many poor health indicators”.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare, Government of India launched a health programme, the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK),  for adolescents, in the age group of 10 – 19 years which targeted their nutrition, reproductive health and substance abuse, among other issues. RKSK was launched in January 2014. The key principles of this programme were Adolescent Participation and Leadership, Equity and Inclusion, Gender Equity and strategic partnership with other sectors and stakeholders. The objectives of the programme were:

• Improve Nutrition
• Improve Sexual and Reproductive Health
• Enhance Mental Health
• Prevent Injuries and Violence
• Prevent Substance Misuse

Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (MPVHA) in collaboration with Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh through its District Health Society, Panna did intervention in terms of organizing training of trainers, training for frontline workers and peer educators based on training modules during 2017-2019. Panna being one of the toughest and poor indicator district was intervened and supported by above activities with availability of counsellors in all 5 blocks and two CHCs.

• RKSK moves away from purely clinic-based services toward a proactive health promotion and prevention approach that engages adolescents in their regular environments, such as their schools, families, and communities. The core pillars driving this strategy include community-based outreach by counsellors, facility-based counselling, active Social and Behaviour Change Communication, and the strengthening of Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics across all levels of care.At the state level, the National Health Mission (NHM) has scaled the RKSK program across all districts of Madhya Pradesh. For the 2025–26 operational year, the Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association (MPVHA) has been tasked by the NHM with implementing the program across a specific cluster of five districts: Khandwa, Khargone, Dhar, Jhabua, and Ujjain. Furthermore, within this assigned regional cluster, the specialized Sathiya program—which focuses on Peer Educator training—is actively operational in the Khandwa and Jhabua districts.The RKSK program targets all adolescent boys and girls between 10 and 19 years of age, delivering its interventions through a three-pronged strategy that includes facility-based, community-based, and school-based approaches.Activities in 2025 -2026 Across five districts, MPVHA delivered counselling services through 43 Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs), known as “Umang Clinics.” To extend their reach, these static clinics are supported by targeted outreach counseling sessions conducted every Tuesday and Friday within government schools, tribal hostels, and anganwadi center. The components which were addressed are:Physical, mental & sexual health,Healthy diet and lifestyle for adolescents,Family planning information and services,Promoting mental health among adolescents,Cleanliness drives, safety on the street support and NCD, Substance abuse etc
• Major activities include Counselling Services, Outreach activities, Saathiya Training, Kishore Ka Shor Program, Umang School Health & Wellness Program and Observation of Special Days.