Project Theme
Health
Target Group
Tribals
Project Period
01 Apr 2014 - 31 Mar 2015
Health
Tribals
01 Apr 2014 - 31 Mar 2015
Jharkhand has an extensive network of Government health institutions. There are 4462 sub centres, 368 additional PHCs, 193 block PHCs, 37 referral hospitals, 10 sub divisional hospitals, 22 Sadar hospitals, and 3 medical colleges and hospitals. However, despite these numbers, they still fall short of what is necessary and access to quality health services is a major issue. Furthermore, the sheer remoteness of several populations makes it difficult to access the health provisions that do exist.
Poonam Devi of Chauparan block of Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand took forward the struggle of mobilizing 200 women of the village of different SHGs and empowered them to demand their rights and entitlements. As per the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), Government of India scheme, a provision of THR(Take home Rashan) under which adolescent girls are ensured of their health, preventing them from being anemic most the girls do not get surplus nutrition. But the concerned person who was supposed to distribute the same was denying giving it to girls or gives very poor quality of rotten soya chunks that too not in the appropriate quantity.
Poonam along with few women of the village went to ask the reason why they are not providing girls appropriate THR and questioned the quality of the soya Chunks, But The Aanganwadi Sevika denied giving any answer and asked them not to interfere in their work. Poonam then went to the Block authority demanding their right of village girls THR , again they were sent empty handed saying that it’s not their business, which motivated her to mobilize more than 200 women of village and went to their area MLA and organized a protest march against the authorities to well enough secure their rights. The march began from Chauparan and ended in Hazaribagh catching the attention of one and all.
This resulted in ensuring the timely, adequate and quality supply of THR along with other facilities across the village and not only Village but this incident inspired women of nearby village and mobilization of Chauparan block which ensured good health of their own children and people.