A mega project of 'School Children Healthcare R R District' involving about 50,000 children was launched on Tuesday. Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Hyderabad, Rotary International and Shanta Biotechnics, the project covers government primary school children between the ages of 6 and 11 in 12 mandals of Ranga Reddy district for a period of three years.

The project envisages health check-ups, administration of Hepatitis-B vaccine, iron, vitamin A and protein supplements and audio-visual health awareness programmes for school children. A weekly camp will be held on all Fridays in the schools in all the 12 mandals for the duration of the project.

According to a press release issued by the Rotary Club of Hyderabad, the project will be coordinated by the district health and medical officer, the district educational officer and their staff and Shanta Biotech, the provider of Hepatitis-B vaccine for the camps and audio-visual education material to create awareness about hepatitis among the school children.

About 50 Rotarians are giving active support and cooperation in conducting the camps, while NGOs are providing nutritional advice, social mobilization and hepatitis awareness in the camps. A project management committee of 15 Rotarians are involved in the conception, planning, formulation and implementation of the project in 298 schools.

Before selecting Ranga Reddy district for the project, a random survey was conducted and data collected on the family income, height, weight, haemoglobin levels, vitamin A deficiency that affects the eye sight, among 602 children in all the 12 mandals. The family income of a majority of children was below the poverty line of Rs 10,200 per annum, a majority of children showed stunted growth and below average height and weight, moderate anaemia was present in 70 % of the children and signs of vitamin A deficiency in one/both eyes were seen in 70-80 % of the children. The press release said that the improvement in health status and Hepatitis-B prevalence would be reassessed after three years on the conclusion of the project.