Rights Panel Chief Urges Awareness on Non-Communicable Diseases in Children

Fast Summary:

• K.V. Manoj Kumar, Chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, emphasized the need to raise awareness about non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and lifestyle disorders in children.
• He spoke at a State-level consultation on ‘Investing in child rights and health,’ organized by the commission and UNICEF in Kerala.
• Mr. Kumar noted that children’s physical and mental health is crucial for a healthy society, highlighting challenges posed by lifestyle diseases and genetic disorders, especially for differently abled children who require additional support mechanisms.
• Families, schools, NGOs, and society must cooperate to create support systems for affected children. Awareness campaigns were emphasized as vital alongside promoting preventive strategies among students.
• Recommendations on these issues will be submitted to the government with clear guidelines proposed for addressing NCDs in children effectively.
• The consultation also focused on investments in child health, education, protection; prevention of NCDs; strengthening institutional reforms; and multi-stakeholder collaboration.

Indian Opinion analysis:
The discussions initiated during this consultation reflect an important shift towards addressing lifestyle disorders among children as a public concern rather than an individual issue within families alone. By involving multiple stakeholders-from families to ngos-Kerala’s approach aims at building a community-wide preventive framework tailored toward improving child health outcomes holistically.

This multi-stakeholder engagement signals potential avenues for systemic reform through partnerships and accountability frameworks that address both prevention methods and institutional deficiencies related to child rights protection mechanisms.If implemented effectively with actionable recommendations presented to policymakers, such initiatives could serve as models for other states grappling with similar issues around non-communicable diseases affecting younger populations.

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