Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur has claimed that the government has taken several initiatives to improve the health, hygiene, and well-being of women and for enhancing their status in the country.
Answering a question in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Thakur said schemes like Ujjwala Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have helped reduce drudgery and time poverty of women and improved health outcomes.
“Under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, over 11.8 crore individual household latrines (IHHLs) have been constructed in the country. Similarly, the Jal Jeevan Mission has successfully provided tap water connections to around 15.6 crores households,” she said.
Elaborating further on the measures undertaken to improve the menstrual hygiene, and health, the MoS said to ensure easy access to sanitary napkins and good quality medicines at affordable price, the Department of Pharmaceuticals under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers implements the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Janausadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP). Under the project, over 16,000 Janaushidhi Kendras have been set up across the country, which besides affordable medicines, provide Oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins named Suvidha at Rs. 1/- per pad only<.
“The government also implements the ‘Scheme for Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene’ among adolescent girls in the age group of 10-19 years. The scheme is supported by National Health Mission through State Programme Implementation Plan (PIP) route based on the proposals received from the States/UTs. One of the major objectives of the scheme is to increase awareness among adolescent girls on Menstrual Hygiene. Under the scheme, sanitary napkin packs are provided to adolescent girls by the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) at subsidized rates. Government also provides budget to the States/ UTs for Orientation of field level health workers and IEC activities for menstrual hygiene,” she revealed.
In addition, the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ has developed National Guidelines on Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) for creating awareness on it in rural areas as part of its overall interventions related to behaviour change on sanitation and hygiene aspects.
The Minister also spoke about the Sakhi Niwas Scheme (Working Women Hostel), a demand driven Centrally Sponsored Scheme, under which funds are released to the States and UTs for implementation of the scheme. The scheme aims to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women and other women pursuing higher education or training in urban, semi-urban and also in rural areas where employment opportunity for women exists.