Majority of pregnant women do not know ASHAs
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, July 31 2013:
Majority of pregnant women in the State are unaware of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) who play a vital role in disseminating information about the various health schemes taken up by the Central Government under NRHM for the people in rural areas.
When Hueiyen Lanpao met with some of the pregnant women who came for their check up in RIMS and JNIMS and enquired them about ASHAs, majority of them do not know who these ASHAs are.
Some of them, who know about ASHAs are only those who lived just next door to ASHAs or the ASHAs happen to be their relatives.
For these women, they get the best benefits from ASHAs.
Talking to Hueiyen Lanpao in this connection, Dr K Rajen, State Nodal Officer, NRHM, stated that with a view to ensure one ASHA for every 1000 people of the State, the concerned authority appointed 3878 ASHAs in 2391 villages of the State.
The ASHAs are selected by a Village Health Sanitation Committee headed by a Pradhan or a Village Head.
An ASHA should have at least passed class VIII standard.
She (ASHA) is expected to create awareness on health and its determinants, mobilize the community towards local health planning, and increase utilization of the existing health care services.
The ASHAs are provided with a mobile phone with BSNL SIM card so that they can keep in touch with pregnant women and women bearing small children.
They have also been equipped with torch light, raincoat, radio and certain other medicines and medical equipments, he added.
Dr Raken further stated that an ASHA cannot administer medicines or give injections to the patients, but can only guide the patient to reach the nearest health centre.
An ASHA should carry out home visits every day for at least two hours and check whether there are any pregnant mothers or mothers with small kids.
They should provide Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) cards to the pregnant wo0men and advice them to go for routine check up in the hospitals.
ASHAs are voluntary workers who are paid incentives based on performance, he added.