The Centre on Monday launched Samagra Shishu Bal Swasthya Karyakram (SSBSK), a unified national programme that provides a continuum of home and community-based care for every child from birth till they attain the age of three years.
The programme launched by Health Minister JP Nadda integrates the existing Home-Based Newborn Care (HBNC) and Home-Based Care for Young Child (HBYC) programmes into a single comprehensive framework.
A key feature of SSBSK is the introduction of a risk-stratified approach for newborns and young children identified as ‘at-risk’ due to conditions such as low birth weight, prematurity, delayed initiation of breastfeeding, discharge from newborn care units, malnutrition, recurrent illness or developmental delays.
