Healthcare Interventions 2012-13

First Thousand Days Program

Context:

Household  focus  on  appropriate  nutrition  of mothers and children has been significantly low in the 8 Blocks of Bankura Sadar sub division . Hence Shamayita  Math  felt  a  strong  need  to  work  on nutritional  aspect  of mother  and  child  to  ensure healthier and a productive life. It was also felt that investing  for better nutrition  can help  families  to break the cycle of poverty. The 1,000 days between a woman's pregnancy and her child's 2nd birthday offer  a  unique  window  of  opportunity  to  shape healthier and more prosperous  futures. The  right nutrition during this 1,000 day window can have a profound impact on a child's ability to grow, learn and hence  rise  out  of poverty.  It  can  also help  in shaping a society's  long-term health, stability and prosperity.  Shamayita  Math  implemented  the program  in  BANKURA  SADAR  sub  division which comprises of eight development Blocks with 75  Gram  panchayats  (GP).  This  program  was implemented  since May 2012 with  grant  support from UNICEF.

Awareness and training program-

Objectives

·         Focus  on  children  under  two  and  their mothers   with  essential   nutrition interventions

·         Provide  quality  care  for  children  with severe  under  nutrition  supplemented  by prevention and  treatment

·         To develop and follow up for first 1000 days for  each child using  IGMSY, PD &  IYCF

·         Using ICDS platform for the first 1000 days approach

·         To  strengthen  existing  system  of  ICDS, Health  and PRI

·         To  develop  convergence  among  all  key players, HEALTH,  ICDS & PRI

·         To ensure quality services for maternal and child health & nutrition

·         To  increase  awareness  &  accessibility  of target  group  to  avail  existing  schemes (IGMSY,  JSY) available  the critical 1000 days

·         To  improve  maternal  &  child  feeding  & caring practices  in  the community

Project Area

Shamayita Math has been engaged  for  implementing first 1000 day's program in Bankura Sadar sub-division (namely Bankura I, Bankura II, Onda Chhatna, Gangajalghati, Saltora, Barjora and Mejia)including all 75 GPs of 8 blocks comprising of 1964 ICDS centres.

Nutrition day celebration at a village-

Interventions

·         Early initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of birth;

·         Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of  life;

·         Timely  introduction  of  complementary food after six months;

·         Age-appropriate,  energy  and  nutrient-dense complementary food for children 6-24  months  of    age  with  continued breastfeeding;

·         Full immunization and bi-annual vitamin A supplementation  (0-35 months)  with  de-worming;

·         Safe handling of complementary foods and hygienic complementary  feeding practices;

·         Household using adequately iodized salt (>15 ppm);

·         Frequent feeding and breastfeeding during and after illness, including oral rehydration therapy  and  zinc  supplementation  for children with diarrhoea;

·         Improved  food  and  nutrient  intake  for adolescent  girls,  particularly  to  prevent anaemia;  and

·         Access  to  care  of  severely  acute  malnourished children

Outcomes

The  implementing  team  consisted  of  75  GP  facilitators  (emphasis  given  on  recruitment  on female,  male=28,  female=47),  1  Sub-division Coordinator and 1 MIS coordinator as a team work in close coordination to fulfill the objectives of the program.

During  the  first  8 months  of  implementation  the appropriate  quality  and  quantity  of  diet  was increased  1.58%,  age  appropriate  immunization was  increased  5.77%,  attending  of  counseling sessions / VHND by AWW was increased by 0.78 % home  visit  conducted  by  AWW  jointly  with  GP Facilitators  was  increased  by  4.09%.   The malnourishment  in  the  total  Bankura  Sadar  was documented to be reduced by .0.75% whereas the percentages  of  severely  malnourished  were reduced by 0.5%.

Besides  this, different mechanisms  for  tracking malnourished children,  joint home visit  including ASHA, ANM, AWWs, AWHs, CHCMI group members PD  Facilitators  &  ICDS  Supervisors  is  done  on  a regular basis to sensitize the community about the cycle of malnourishment.

Better Health Program

Project Area

Better  health  program  is  implemented  in  3 project  locations  -  Durgapur,  Burnpur,  Asansol, Saltora  in West  Bengal  and  24  villages  in  Bastar District, Chattisgarh.

Context

Shamayita Math has been a partner to IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur  in  fulfilling  its mission  to provide medical and health care in villages on the outskirts of  Burnpur,  West  Bengal.  Also services  were provided  in  a more  focused manner  in  the  seven model  villages  of  ISP.  The  children  who  have dropped out of  immunization are being  identified through  survey  and  special  efforts  are  made  to ensure  immunization  of  the  drop  outs  in  ISP Hospital. Also  about  330  children  of  the  primary schools  of  the model  villages,  are  being  covered  under school health program, where awareness is created among the students on different aspects of health.

Through IISCO  CSR  program,  376  camps  were organized  this year  to reach 14,038 patients.

A camp in progress-

Medical  service  is  also  provided  through mobile dispensary  to  four  villages  around  Durgapur namely  Akandara  Bauri  para,  Akandara  Adivasi para,  Kantaberia  Bauri  para,  Kantaberia  Adivasi Para  on  fortnightly  basis  under  CSR  program  of Durgapur Steel Plant. 

Through DSP CSR program, 96 health camps were organized this year (8 camps per month) to reach out  to  2,310 patients.

Under  CSR  program  of  Great  Eastern  Energy Company Ltd. (GEECL), a private company based in Asansol, mobile medical  camps  is held  in villages under Saltora block of Bankura district and villages on  the outskirts of Asansol  town. 40 medical  camps were  organized  to  treat  2,802 patients at their doorsteps this year through a set of experienced MBBS doctor and paramedical staff.  

In Bastar, Chattisgarh the villagers were dependent mostly  on  traditional  practitioners  and  faith healers.    'Hospital on Wheels'  the mobile medical service  housed  in  two  Swaraj  Mazda  vehicle equipped  with  instant  live  saving  gadgets  along with Doctors and Paramedics & medicines, moves to villages as per their fixed schedule and provides health services at  the doorstep of  tribal  families.

Mobile medical treatment at Bastar, Chattisgarh-

Intreventions in Chattisgarh

·         Out  Patient  Treatment  to  31,297  patients during FY 2012-13.

·         Weekly service on planned schedule, minimum one halt  in  small villages and 6-7 halts  in big villages.

·         Health  education  towards  health  seeking behavior, hygiene,  sanitation.

·         Health camps organized.

·         Coordination  meeting  with  Govt.  health functionaries.

·         Referral of serious patients  in NMDC Hospital

Outcomes

·         Greater acceptance of the health team, specially the doctor by  the villagers.

·         Reduction  in  skin  disease  among  school children by almost 90%  in Chattisgarh.

·         Saving  life  from poisonous snake bite through awareness generation and use of anti-venoms.

Better  health  awareness  among  villagers has been observed. Increase in demand for medical treatment and desire  to  stay  healthy  even    to  the  extent  of stopping  the  medical  van  on  the  way  i.e unscheduled halt to avail service of the doctor and medicine. This is a long way from the intital days of this program when villagers had to be motivated by various programs to come and seek medical attention.

Eye camp at the JeevanSurya Hospital at the Math premises-