Reproductive and Child Health Programme
The aim is to bring about attitudinal changes in health and well-being, as well as imparting practical information concerning all aspects of Reproductive and Child Health. WEIV staff mobilise the community to access Government programs and are on the ground to ensure that Government delivers these programs.
The Reproductive Health programme addresses contraceptive awareness, pre-natal guidance, maternal health and well-being. The programme aims to empower young, married couples to delay and space their pregnancies, to equip unmarried adolescents with appropriate information regarding sexual health and marriageable age, and to bring about improved action, demand and access to reproductive health services.
Objectives:
* To decrease the percentage of girls marrying before attaining 18 years of age.
* To actively encourage a minimum of two years spacing between births.
* To increase the incidence of safe delivery for all women within the community.
* To build increasing awareness and support for gender equity amongst the community.
* To increase the Ante-Natal Care (ANC) coverage, as well as complete immunisation coverage.
* To make the communities aware of their health-related entitlements and empower them to access and monitor local health services
* To enable the socially excluded communities and community-based organisations to become equal partners in the planning process and to increase the communities’ sense of involvement and participation in order to improve responsive functioning of the public health system
* To do advocacy for qualitative service delivery in the area.
* To provide regular and systematic information about community needs, which will be used to guide the government health planning and implementation process effectively
Strategy:
* In order to achieve the above mentioned objectives, community action would be the major strategies of the programme as community action is the only guarantee for right to health care - putting community pressure on health system.
* Communities suffer denial of healthcare in many ways – human power (doctor, nurse) not being available, medicines not available; referrals outside for investigations; non availability of essential equipment/infrastructure; no transport facility available for referring the patient etc.
* Community action involving Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI), Community based organisations (CBO), Non-Government Organisations (NGO), etc. can create a more accountable public and private health care system. Community action would also organise people to demand quality health services.
* Community health action processes will build a partnership among the community members (including Self Help Groups, Community-based Organisations & local NGOs), health system and the local Panchayati Raj Institution system to strengthen and improve health outcomes of the area.
Potential Outcomes:
* Community members, especially those belonging to socially excluded communities would be sensitised towards their entitlements and health rights
* The socially excluded communities would be made aware about the benefits of institutional delivery, benefit provided through different schemes like Janani Evam Bal Suraksha Yojana, preventive measures from communicable diseases and the availability of untied fund within the Panchayat.
* The minimisation of cases like non-availability of an Auxillary Nurse Midwife in the Community Health Centre, non-availability of medicine, as well as lack of information about Janani Bal Suraksha Yojna (launched by the Government of India, is an essential program aimed at ensuring the well-being of pregnant women)
* Health services would become gradually community centred and the quality of services would be improved
* Participation of socially excluded groups especially of Dalit & muslim women would be improved.
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