Mobile health service ‘Kilkari’ launched in Maharashtra and Gujarat

Mobile health initiative Kilkari was launched in Gujarat and Maharashtra on Wednesday, it was launched virtually by Union Minister of State for Health Baghel and Bharti Praveen Pawar in both the states.

The Kilkari program is a centralized interactive voice response (IVR) based mobile health service that delivers 72 weekly and time-appropriate audio messages about pregnancy, delivery and child care directly to families' mobile phones from the second trimester of pregnancy till the child turns one. Sends on. Mobile Academy, a free audio training course designed to expand and refresh the knowledge of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) and improve their communication skills through their mobile phones, was also launched.

He said the objective of the program is to provide weekly services and timely accessible, accurate and relevant 72 audio messages through IVRS about reproductive maternal, newborn and child health care to the targeted beneficiaries. He said that “the launch of the Kilkari program is in line with the government's commitment to prioritize public health infrastructure and strengthen citizen-centric health services by leveraging India's growing mobile phone penetration”.

The Kilkari program is organized centrally by the Union Health Ministry for all states and union territories, and they are not required to bear any further investment in technology, telephony infrastructure or operational costs. This service is free for States, Union Territories and beneficiaries. Currently, the Kilkari program is implemented in 18 states and union territories including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttarakhand.
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Author: Wendy Taylor