Challenges in Implementing Strategies in Adolescent Health in India

Jugal Kishore

Jugal Kishore Director Professor, Community Medicine, Vardhman Mahavir Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India

Abstract

Adolescent health in India faces substantial challenges, particularly regarding the evidence based design, implementation, and evaluation of policies and programs. It has a long history of starting first medical examination in schools in 1909 in Baroda. The international convention on the rights of the child in 1992 mandated school health programs. Despite the existence of initiatives such as the Adolescent Reproductive and Sexual Health (ARSH) Strategy 2005, Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) 2014, and the School Health & Wellness Program under Ayushman Bharat program, multiple gaps remain in applying evidence-based strategies to optimize adolescent health outcomes (Barua 2020).

References

1. Barua A, Watson K, Plesons M, Chandra-Mouli V, Sharma K. Adolescent health programming in India: a rapid review. Reproductive Health. 2020 Jun 3;17(1):87. doi: 10.1186/s12978-020-00929-4. [Google Scholar]
2. Jain N, Bahl D, Mehta R, Bassi S, Sharma K, Arora M. Progress and challenges in implementing adolescent and school health programmes in India: a rapid review. BMJ open. 2022 May 1;12(5):e047435. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-047435. [Google Scholar]
3. WHO. https://www.who.int/health-topics/adolescent-health/ Adolescent-friendly health services: What health workers can do (accessed on 25.5.2026).