GUWAHATI: Shishu Sarothi, in collaboration with Ummeed Child Development Centre, Mumbai conducted a Regional Level Symposium at Birubari here on Wednesday to deliberate on the importance of Early Intervention (EI) and the potential for convergence of EI services with ongoing Government schemes to reach out to more children with developmental disabilities and families.
The symposium highlighted that urgent action is necessary to improve early childhood outcomes and ensure that all children reach their full potential as adults, stated a press release.
Early Childhood Development (ECD) interventions are aimed at improving the development of children and this has been highlighted in the National Education Policy as well. However, children with developmental disabilities are often excluded from these programmes, even though they have the greatest need for support. There is a gap in access and coverage of children with developmental disabilities across most States of the Northeast.
It is with this in view that the symposium was organized with key stakeholders from the health and rehabilitation sectors, including invited experts from outside.
Dr Vibha Krishnamurthy, Development Paediatrician, Ashoka Fellow, and founder of Ummeed Child Development Centre, delivered the keynote address. This was followed by a Panel Discussion on Early Intervention and suggestions on the way forward, with a view to converging efforts of NGOs and public health programmes.
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