ASHAs will continue to bear the burden of the government's rural health mission as a new order lists more incentive-based services. On May 31, a Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare order listed additional incentivised duties for Accredited Social Health Activists, or ASHAs, but was silent on the issue of regularisation of their employment. ASHAs, who bridge the gap between the rural population and the nearest health care outlets under...

'Women in urban slums need a basket of healthcare services to meet their needs' As the Centre mulls a national urban health mission on the lines of the existing National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), a study indicates that the mission may need some tweaking to deliver healthcare services to the urban poor. While women groups and Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) have a big role to play in reducing maternal and...

In what could be perceived as a disturbing trend, vaccination in rural Bihar has been adversely affected due to casteism. According to the recent survey report, which was prepared after an on-the-spot study in 14 villages of Bihar’s nine districts, several instances of “caste discrimination” have came to fore. For instance, such was the social divide in a Rohtas village that vaccinations could not take place either in Brahmin’s tola (colony) or...

The ICDS' plight is symptomatic of the problems plaguing the Union government's flagship schemes for the poor all over the country.   INDIA may be the only country in the world where we describe the ensuring of the basic socio-economic rights of the people in terms of “flagship schemes” that are seen as the benevolent contribution of governments. One problem with this approach is that the delivery of basic services is...

A healthcare model relying mainly on people from within the community to provide care is reaping success One of India’s most backward districts and Maharashtra’s worst ranked in human development indicators, Gadchiroli, today finds itself at the forefront of a healthcare revolution that can potentially save millions of infant lives and help India rapidly reduce her abysmal infant mortality rate (IMR). Under the aegis of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), India...