CHENNAI: Nearly half the children under the age of five who live on the city’s streets with their parents have no access to even the basic healthcare and nutrition that government-run
anganwadis provide and 74% of them sleep out in the open on
footpaths along roads, according to a recent
study.
The study was conducted by the Information and Resource Centre for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) in September in areas where the
homeless population was high — Broadway, Royapuram, Mannadi, Chennai Central and Egmore railway stations, Triplicane, Ekkatuthangal, Guindy and Velachery.
The survey covered 206 homeless children, 107 girls and 99 boys, in the 0-5 age group and found 46% had no access to healthcare or nutrition, said Vanessa Peter of IRCDUC. Only 54% of the children were able to access services provided in the anganwadis, mainly because the mothers were not aware of such centres in their vicinity and the facilities offered by them. The reported cited some mothers as saying that they did not want to send their children to anganwadis as they could face discrimination. What made these kids prone to illness was that three-fourths of them were constantly exposed to the elements as they lived without a roof over their heads.
Anganwadis run by the
state social welfare department are mandated to provide health care to children and mothers (for post-natal care) from disadvantaged sections of the society. They are to ensure supplementary nutrition for children up to the age of five.
When it comes to services for the homeless, the civic body aims only at building shelters.
“But the role of the corporation does not end at that. The need is to have a holistic framework to effect a positive change for the urban homeless. Having family shelters are a step towards that,” said Vanessa Peter.
There should be provisions to make the basic health and nutrition accessible to those living on the streets, she said.
“With a limited number of shelters available and no provision for family shelters, there is a need for these basic services to reach the homeless. The work should not stop with providing shelters,” she added.
The study said the social welfare department and the corporation should jointly identify places with a lot of homeless children and set up more anganwadis, for example in Broadway and Mannadi.
A corporation official said the number of homeless was around 9000. “Steps will be taken as per the findings of our survey. However, family shelters are not within our wherewithal,” said the official.