ASHA & Anganwadi Workers Interact with & Meet Prime Minister

Last Updated on October 20, 2018 by Bharat Saini

ASHA & Anganwadi Workers Interact with & Meet Prime Minister

Team of 3 As: ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist)  workers, Anganwadi workers and ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife), from across the country had an opportunity to interact with Prime Minister through video conferencing on September 11, 2018, and the  Prime Minister recognised the contribution of these grass-root health workers and thanked them for their efforts in building strong and healthy nation and appreciated their effort to work together, to use innovative means and technology, to improve the delivery of health and nutrition services and achieve the goal of POSHAN Abhiyan – reduction of malnutrition in the country. National Nutrition Mission was renamed as POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyan on May 25, 2018. September month is being observed as “Poshan Maah” with the aim towards taking the message of nutrition to every household.

Prime Minister announced on September 11 significant increases in the honorarium given to Anganwadi workers. Those receiving ₹3000 so far, would now receive ₹4500. Similarly those receiving ₹2200 would now get ₹3500. The honorarium for Anganwadi helpers has also been increased from ₹1500 to ₹2250. He also announced the doubling of routine incentives given by the Union Government to ASHA workers. In addition, all ASHA workers and their helpers would be provided free insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana. Anganwadi workers and helpers using techniques such as Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS) would get additional incentives ranging from ₹250 to ₹500, based on their performance.

The Union Cabinet on September 19 approved this increase in the honorarium for Anganwadi and Asha workers which will become effective next month.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister, has also given its approval to increase routine and recurring incentives under the National Health Mission for Asha workers from ₹1000 to ₹2000 per month.

A group of over 100 Anganwadi workers from across the country called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 19 to thank him for increasing the honorarium amount by up to 60%. Acknowledging the greetings, Modi accompanied by Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi, said:

• Anganwadis play a key role in a child’s physical and cognitive development.
• Nutrition requires constant focus and development of good habits, which can be provided by Anganwadi workers.
• Referring to the on-going Poshan Maah (nutrition month), the momentum that has been built up during this campaign should not flag.
• Nutrition requires constant focus and development of good habits, which can be provided by Anganwadi workers.
• Anganwadi workers should ensure that the nutritional assistance being made available to beneficiaries is used judiciously.
• Children will listen more to Anganwadi workers. They have a key role in generating awareness.
• He encouraged healthy competition among Anganwadis, as a “motivation for better nutritional care and efforts among various Anganwadi workers.”

A group of about 90 ASHA representatives from across the country called on Prime Minister on September 20 to express their happiness, and thank him for the recent announcement of increase in incentives, and insurance cover. Prime Minister recalling his interaction on September 11 with the ASHA and Anganwadi workers, via video conference, appreciated the experiences and personal accounts that had been shared by ASHA representatives, and said that these will surely prove inspirational for many.

• ASHA activists on September 20 shared some more accounts of how they had been instrumental in saving lives of poor mothers and children through timely intervention.
• Prime Minister appreciated the skill and dedication of ASHA workers, and recalled that even Bill and Melinda Gates had praised the efforts of ASHAs towards eradication of diseases such as Kala Azar.
• Prime Minister encouraged them to devote their energies to work in coordination with other government agencies to improve the quality of life in their villages.
• He also explained how Government schemes and initiatives are all aimed at empowering the poor to fight poverty.

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sh. J.P. Nadda was also present on the occasion.

Anganwadi, a type of rural child care centre, started in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services programme to combat child hunger and malnutrition, provides basic health care in villages. These centres provide supplementary nutrition, non-formal pre-school education, nutrition and health education, immunization, health check-up and referral services of which later three services are provided in convergence with public health systems.

There are around 14 lakh Anganwadis or child care centres in rural areas across the country and 10 crore beneficiaries, including children under the age of six, pregnant women and lactating mothers. There are a total of 12 83707 Anganwadi workers and 1050564 helpers.

ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), “an ASHA in every village”, are community health workers instituted by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as a part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which began in 2005. ASHAs are local women trained to act as health educators and promoters in their communities, who create awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilize the community towards local health planning and increased utilization and accountability of the existing health services. Their tasks include motivating women to give birth in hospitals, bringing children to immunization clinics, encouraging family planning (e.g., surgical sterilization), treating basic illness and injury with first aid, keeping demographic records, and improving village sanitation.

There are a total of 1023136 ASHAs across the country.

Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) is a village-level female health worker, known as the first contact person between the community and the health services and regarded as the grass-roots workers in the health organisation pyramid. In 1950s ANMs focussed on midwifery and mother and child health and now their services are considered important to provide safe and effective care to village communities.

Each ANM is supported by four or five ASHAs and with Anganwadi worker, the ANM works as a resource person for the training of ASHAs. The ANM motivates ASHAs to bring beneficiaries to the institution. The ASHA brings pregnant women to the ANM for check-ups. She also brings married couples to the ANM for counselling on the family planning. The ASHA brings children to immunisation sessions held by the ANM. The ASHAs act as bridge between the ANM and the village.