Updates

Launch of the Saathiya Resource Kit by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with the Population Foundation of India and the United Nations Population Fund

Posted on February 21, 2017

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with the Population Foundation of India and the United Nations Population Fund launched the 'Saathiya Resource Kit' along with the 'SaathiyaSalaah’ (Advice) – a mobile app for adolescents – to equip the Saathiyas (peer educators) to work with adolescents under the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) programme.

The RKSK is a nationwide programme under which the government plans to equip 800,000 boys and girls to work as peer educators for adolescents. So far, 1.6 lakh Saathiyas have been selected. As friends and companions the Saathiyas will strive to respond to adolescents’ queries on key issues pertaining to their health and related to physical body changes, mental health, nutrition, substance misuse, reproductive and sexual health as well as their individual rights.

PFI's behaviour change communication initiative Main Kuch Bhi Kar Sakti Hoon (MKBKSH) has contributed to the kit. The last 26 episodes of MKBKSH Season Two were re-written to focus on the key themes of RKSK and to introduce the name ‘Saathiya’. Eight films from MKBKSH were further derived and added to the kit. These deal with the priority RKSK issues of nutrition, substance misuse, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and mental health among others.