Kilkari Programme:
The Union Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare virtually launched the Kilkari programme, a Mobile Health (m-health) initiative for beneficiaries in local content in Gujarat and Maharashtra.
- Kilkari programme is a centralised interactive voice response (IVR) based mobile health service.
- It delivers free, weekly, time-appropriate 72 audio messages about pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare directly to families’ mobile phones from the second trimester of pregnancy until the child is one year old.
- Women who are registered in the Reproductive Child Health (RCH) portal based on the woman’s LMP (last menstrual period) or the child’s DoB (Date of Birth), receive a weekly call with pre-recorded audio content directly to the mobile phones of pregnant women and mothers with children under the age of one year.
- Kilkari audio messages are present in the form of the voice of a fictitious doctor character called Dr. Anita.
- It is centrally hosted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) for all the States/UTs and no further investment in the technology, telephony infrastructure or operational costs is required to be borne by States/UTs.
- This service is FREE of cost for States/UTs and beneficiaries.
- The programme is integrated with the centralised Reproductive Child Health (RCH) portal of MoHFW and is the single source of information for this mHealth service.
- Currently, Kilkari is under implementation in 18 States / UTs of India
