Karnataka has started a three-month pilot programme for menopause health in Dakshina Kannada district, aimed at women aged 35 and above who are going through perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause. Ruthu Taare, as the programme is called, will run dedicated clinics at primary health centres, taluka hospitals and district hospitals. The order to launch it was issued by the Commissionerate of Health on 12 November, and it marks the state’s first structured attempt to bring menopause care into the public health system.
Ruthu Taare clinics and screening
Dedicated clinic sessions will be held every Wednesday at primary health centres, taluka hospitals and district hospitals, with designated medical colleges hosting clinics on Saturdays where staff and infrastructure are available. The clinics will screen for hypertension, diabetes and obesity, and will also offer screening for breast and cervical cancer. The aim is to catch chronic conditions early in women whose health concerns have often been treated as a normal part of ageing rather than as conditions that need care. The programme is designed to move beyond traditional maternal health services, which have been the main focus of women’s healthcare in the public system. The Wednesday clinics are the core of Ruthu Taare.
Each woman who comes to a clinic will be given a Mid-Life Health Card, which will record screening results, clinical assessments and any referrals. Mental health support is built into the programme, with a risk-based system that places women in Green, Yellow or Red categories to decide how much support they need. Those who need further help will be linked to existing services, including the Gruha Arogya initiative. The card and the risk categories give Ruthu Taare a way to follow each woman over time.
Ruthu Taare nutrition and training
The programme also covers food and bone health. Staff will counsel participants on protein and calcium intake, bone health and preventing osteoporosis, and will encourage the use of locally sourced, nutritious foods. Local health workers, including ASHA mentors and nursing staff, are being given specialised training to run the programme. The scheme was designed on the recommendation of the State Technical Advisory Committee, and the state government intends it to become a statewide programme after the pilot. The training is part of what makes Ruthu Taare different from a one-off camp.
Health and Family Welfare Minister U T Khader said women should not have to go through the menopause transition in silence, and that the programme is meant to move beyond the maternal health services that have dominated women’s healthcare. Actress and former MP Ramya, also known as Divya Spandana, has been appointed the programme’s ambassador and will support its awareness work. The order was reported by Prajavani, and the programme is intended to become a statewide programme after the pilot phase, according to the state health department. The pilot will run for three months in Dakshina Kannada before any decision on expansion. The ambassador’s role is to bring Ruthu Taare to women who might not otherwise hear of it.
What Ruthu Taare will measure
After the three months, district health authorities will submit progress reports on the programme’s coverage and whether it can be run at a larger scale. Those findings will decide how the programme is refined and whether it is extended to other districts. The pilot is part of Karnataka’s wider plan to develop a women’s health policy and a specialist workforce for midlife care, a plan the state began shaping earlier this year with a committee headed by gynaecologist Dr Jyotsna Mirlay. The committee was set up to prepare scientific guidelines for the policy, and its work will shape the screening protocols, referral pathways and specialist services the state eventually offers. The reports will decide the future of Ruthu Taare.
The programme arrives at a time when menopause care in India is still largely left to private clinics and individual doctors. A public programme that screens, counsels and tracks women through the transition is new, and Dakshina Kannada will be the test of whether it works in practice. Ruthu Taare will be judged on how many women it reaches, what its screening finds and whether the state can staff it beyond the pilot district.