It has been eight years since Mohammad Abdul Raheem left a madrassa. He was an orphan then but is now married and the father of a newborn daughter. On Wednesday, as part of a health screening, Raheem was back at a madrassa volunteering with Helping Hand Foundation, a non-profit focusing on patient care at tertiary hospitals in the city.
The health of over 2,000 students at 100 madrasas was screened in the Old City area of Hyderabad, and it was revealed that over 50% of the children are malnourished. The health screening was conducted on Wednesday as part of Gandhi Jayanti under the National Health Mission.
The screening found that almost half of the students (boys) between the ages of 5 to 12 years are malnourished. About 20% of the students screened were found to be stunted (low height to age) and 23% wasted (low weight to age) falling below the 50% percentile mark as per the growth chart published by WHO (World Health Organisation) and Indian Academy of Paediatrics.
Health officials found that 18% of the students had refractive errors in the eyes and 20% had dental health issues. Over 22% of students had skin infections and scabies as well as health issues such as hernia, hydrocele, seasonal diseases.
The screenings were conducted by the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karykam (RBSK) under the National Health Mission, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. The programme aims to screen children between 5 and 9 years of age and adolescents between 10 to 19 years of age in government-aided schools, anganwadis, residential schools and madrasas.
Madrassas are private institutions that focus on religious teachings. According to an Indian Express report, there are an estimated 6,000 madrassas in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. About 1,200 of them are in Hyderabad and are affiliated to the Deeni Madarsa Board, Jamia Nizamia, while many are not affiliated to the state board. Only 160 madrassas are affiliated to the state board under the Sarva Sikhsha Abhiyan.
The screening done on the children at the madrassas covered birth defects, deficiencies, diseases, developmental delays, and 40-plus health parameters. "The children who have been screened and found to require treatment will be directed to tertiary care hospitals such as Gandhi, Osmania, Niloufer by the NGO," said Dr Nagarjuna Rao, Hyderabad district immunisation officer.
"Most of the children at these madrassas are orphans. Some parents leave the children there as they can't afford to take care of them. Apart from a clinic for first-aid, the children there do not have much access to healthcare. The charity or foundation that runs the madrassa is short on money and can't afford hospital bills either," points out Raheem.
The RBSK has signed an MoU with the non-profit to provide support for the screened students. The responsibility of healthcare of the children has been delegated to the non-profit which has been tasked with providing free transportation, counsellors and facilitation of outpatient and emergency care in 24 state-run hospitals, to the students. The non-profit is also to provide spectacles, nutrition and counselling wherever needed, to students from mainly weaker sections.