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FAQ's - Rural Health

1. What is the focus of the Foundation's Rural Health program?
The Foundation's Rural Health program is based on its long term goal of promoting health-conscious communities. Thus, the focal point of our health programs is to create health awareness and impart knowledge about the various services available.
The Rural Health program also seeks to inculcate a healthy way of life and a sense of responsibility for one's own well-being. Village dwellers are sensitized to inexpensive methods of promotive, preventive and curative care. Non-functional health centres are revived and links are established with competent healthcare systems.

2. What is the Foundation doing to improve the health facilities in the villages?
Capacity building
 - Dais training, community health volunteers, village health & sanitation committees

Spreading health awareness among the villagers
 - Sanitation - promotion of latrines and soak pits
 - Reproductive & child health
 - Communicable diseases
 - Health services available

Curative linkages (Government Primary Health Care system and Non-Government Organizations)
 - Our linkages with the Primary Health Care system have helped us provide a platform for holding health
   camps, for example an eye care camp (to treat cataracts) was conducted in collaboration with the RP
   Centre, AIIMS.
 - Disability Rehabilitation in collaboration with Delhi Council for Child Welfare (DCCW)
 - School Health Program in collaboration with School Health Annual Report Program (SHARP)

3. Who is responsible for these activities?
The Foundation has a team of dedicated health workers and Community Health Volunteers in the villages, who are supervised by the Village Champions. In addition, the FLE Instructors also work actively to provide knowledge on health to young girls and women.

 
4. What are the socio-demographics related to health in the Foundation's work area?
  1. Mewat is startlingly backward in spite of its proximity to New Delhi .
  2. The average population per village is 1500 with a family size of 6.8.
  • Women in reproductive age group, children and adolescents comprise almost half of the population.
  • Most of the deliveries (almost 95%) are conducted at home by traditional midwives.
  • Of the expectant mothers less than half opted for ante-natal care.
  • Only about one-third of the children are completely immunized
    1. The Crude Birth rate is 68.7 per 1000 population and Crude Death rate is in the region of 10.7%.
    2. The Infant Mortality rate was 30 per 1000 live births (which is well below the national average), neonatal mortality rate was 29, postnatal mortality rate was 22 and perinatal mortality rate was 42 per 1000 live births.
    3. The sex ratio among 0-6 age group is 915 girls per 1000 boys. This is better than Haryana state’s average.
    4. The total fertility rate has been calculated, in a recent survey, at 1.4. The contraceptive prevalence rate (any method) is 27%.
    5. Hardly 10 -15% households have access to latrines in our villages.
 
5. What are some of the common problems?
  1. Poor hygiene and sanitation.
  2. As the above figures reflect, health parameters are quite poor for women and children. RTIs among women are a predominant problem accounting for almost 90%. Surprisingly pregnancy related complications are few – except for cases of prolapse, given the indiscriminate use of Oxytocin injections to hasten childbirth. Anemia is reported in 83% of the women.
  3. Among children, diarrhea (82.3%), respiratory infections, skin diseases (76%), malnutrition, poor dental (almost 95%) and overall personal hygiene are commonly seen.
  4. Majority of men report urinary tract related problems (67%).
  5. The biggest problem is convincing people about how improved hygiene and sanitation can help prevent major illnesses.

6. What is the pattern of utilization of public and private health services in your villages?
Most of the villagers (70%) report going to the private doctors. Unfortunately, most of these are unregistered medical practitioners or quacks. Only about 30% go to the government health centres.
 
7. What measures are being taken to improve health in the villages?
  1. As is evident, our main focus is on Reproductive and Child Health
  2. The Foundation endeavors to generate awareness by conducting frequent sessions on various health issues.
  3. Individual counseling, focused group discussions (FGDs), small group discussions are conducted by health workers and volunteers regularly.
  4. The Foundation’s workers also function in tandem with the government health functionaries especially the auxiliary nurse and midwife (ANMs) to ensure 100% TT immunization of all expectant mothers and 100% primary immunization of all children less than a year old. Also 100% coverage is ensured during each Pulse Polio drive.

8. What is the root of health problems in Mewat?
Ignorance and lack of education.

9. What impact has the Foundation made in the villages?
At the very least, the people are now coming forward and seeking help from the local ANM. The VLIs are also actively involved, in some villages, in reviving their respective health sub-centres. Eligible couples are adopting family planning methods, though the numbers are still very small. On the recommendation of the local Primary Health Centres' Medical Officers to ensure complete cure of TB patients, now the Foundation's health workers directly supervise the drugs being administered to these patients.

 



 
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