Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK)

What is Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram?

Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) is the Government of India's national adolescent health programme, run by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the National Health Mission. RKSK was launched on 7 January 2014 and covers India's roughly 253 million adolescents aged 10 to 19 years.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, RKSK marked two shifts. First, it widened the scope of adolescent health work beyond sexual and reproductive health to six thematic areas. Second, it moved the emphasis from clinic-based treatment to promotion and prevention, reaching adolescents in schools, families and communities rather than waiting for them to arrive at a hospital.

RKSK provides services, not cash. Everything the programme delivers to an adolescent: counselling, iron and folic acid tablets, sanitary napkins, deworming tablets, clinical examination and referral, is free.

Key objectives

• Improve nutrition and reduce iron deficiency anaemia among adolescents.
• Improve sexual and reproductive health knowledge and delay the age at first pregnancy.
• Enhance mental health and reduce suicide, substance misuse, injuries and gender-based violence.
• Prevent non-communicable diseases by acting on diet, tobacco and physical activity early.

Who is eligible for RKSK?

You can use RKSK services if:

• You are aged 10 to 19 years. Programme documents also refer to the wider 10-24 youth group for some activities, but the core age band is 10-19.
• You are male or female, married or unmarried, in school or out of school, living in a rural area or a city. RKSK explicitly covers all of these groups.

There is no income limit, no caste requirement, no ration card condition and no registration form. RKSK is a universal public health programme.

Who is not eligible or cannot claim:

• Adults aged 20 and above cannot apply for RKSK services as adolescents; they should use general NHM services at their primary health centre.
• No one can apply for a cash benefit under RKSK. There is no beneficiary list, no DBT payment and no bank account seeding.
• Anyone demanding money to "enrol" an adolescent in RKSK is running a fraud. All RKSK services are free.
• The peer educator role is not open to everyone: Saathiyas are selected locally from among adolescents aged roughly 15 to 19 by the ANM and ASHA worker, in numbers fixed by population.

What does RKSK provide?

Facility-based services

• Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) at primary health centres, community health centres, sub-divisional hospitals and district hospitals. Clinics at community health centres and district hospitals have dedicated trained counsellors.
• Confidential counselling on all six thematic areas, delivered by the counsellor or trained medical officer.
• Clinical services: treatment of anaemia, menstrual problems, reproductive tract infections, skin problems and minor injuries, plus referral to specialists where needed.

Community and school-based services

• Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFS). A weekly IFA tablet for adolescent girls and boys, delivered through schools and, for out-of-school girls, through anganwadi centres, with biannual deworming.
• Menstrual Hygiene Scheme — subsidised sanitary napkins for adolescent girls in rural areas, distributed by ASHA workers.
• Adolescent Health Days; quarterly community events for check-ups, counselling, supplementation and referral.
• Peer education, the Saathiya programme, described below.

The Saathiya peer education programme

Peer educators, called Saathiyas, are adolescents selected from their own village or ward and trained on the six thematic areas. Typically four peer educators: two male and two female: are selected per 1,000 population, each working with a group of about 20 adolescents. They use the Saathiya Resource Kit, launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in February 2017, which contains an activity book, a question-and-answer book, the Bhranti-Kranti myth-busting game and a peer educator diary, together with the Saathiya Salah mobile app. The peer education component was rolled out first in about 200 high priority districts identified on the Composite Health Index.

What are the six thematic areas of RKSK?

How to apply for RKSK services

RKSK has no application form. Access it in one of these ways:

1. Walk in to the Adolescent Friendly Health Clinic at your nearest primary health centre, community health centre or district hospital. Ask at the enquiry counter for the AFHC and its fixed clinic days and hours.
2. Speak to your ASHA worker or ANM at the sub-centre. They will link you to the counsellor, to WIFS tablets, to sanitary napkins under the Menstrual Hygiene Scheme, and to the peer educator group in your area.
3. Attend school sessions. If you are enrolled in a government or government-aided school, the weekly IFA tablet and health sessions are delivered in school by the teacher and the health team.
4. Attend the quarterly Adolescent Health Day at your anganwadi centre for screening, counselling and supplementation.
5. To become a Saathiya peer educator, tell your ANM or ASHA worker. Peer educators are selected locally from adolescents aged roughly 15 to 19; there is no online application.
6. Call 104, the state health helpline, if you cannot find the nearest AFHC or need advice without visiting a facility.

What documents do you need for RKSK?

Is RKSK confidential?

Yes. Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics are designed to be non-judgemental and confidential, and an adolescent who arrives alone should not be turned away or asked to bring a parent before being counselled. Clinical procedures still follow normal consent rules for minors. If a clinic refuses to see an adolescent or breaches confidentiality, raise it with the district Adolescent Health nodal officer through the Chief Medical Officer's office.

Where to get help with RKSK

• State health helpline: 104 to 24x7 toll-free advice and facility information under the National Health Mission.
• ASHA worker, ANM or peer educator in your village or ward.
• AFHC counsellor at your community health centre or district hospital.
• District Adolescent Health nodal officer, via the Chief Medical Officer.
• Saathiya Salah mobile app for self-help information on the six thematic areas.

All RKSK services are free. No fee is payable for counselling, IFA tablets, sanitary napkins or a clinic visit, and no agent can enrol an adolescent for a charge.