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Popfocus 2008 July September English |
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The Tenth JRDTata Memorial Oration
Under the able leadership of
Mr.JRD Tata as Board Chairman,
as part of PA's advocacy programme,
a lecture series under the title
"Encounter with Population Crisis"
was instituted in 1990, inviting
important international and national
celebrities to deliver lectures on critical
issues related to population and
to carry the debate forward. The
Inaugural lecture was delivered by
Dr. Norman E Borlaug, Nobel
Laureate and Father of the Green
Revolution followed by Dr. M. S.
Swaminathan, Dr. Ashok Mitra,
Dr. Abid Hussain and Mr. Vasant
Sathe. In the silver jubilee year of the
Foundation, this lecture series was
rechristened as "JRD Tata Memorial
Oration" in memory of the Founder
Board Chairman of the Foundation.
Some of the key speakers in the
past have been Dr. Manmohan
Singh, Mr. Chandra Shekhar,
Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, followed by
Dr. Najma Heptulla, Mr. I. K Gujral,
Mr. Somnath Chatterjee, Mr. Digvijay
Singh, Dr. Nafis Sadik and
Mr. K C. Pant.
This year, the tenth JRD Tata
memorial oration was delivered by
Dr. Jamshed J Irani, Director, Tata
Industries Ltd on "Corporate Social
Responsibility and Issues of
Population Stabilization in India".
Dr. Jamshed J Irani, Director, Tata Industries Ltd delivering the JRD Tata Memorial
Oration. Others are (from left); Mr. B. G. Deshmukh, Vice-Chairman, Governing Board,
PFI, Mr. Hari Shankar Singhania, Chairman, Governing Board, PFI and Mr. A. R. Nanda,
Executive Director, PFI
The oration was held on
July 22, 2008, at PHD House in
New Delhi. Mr. Hari Shankar
Singhania, Chairman, Governing
Board, PA, presided over the function.
Mr. A. R. Nanda, Executive Director,
PFI delivered the welcome address,
discussing the importance of the
oration held each year in the memory
of J R 0 Tata, one of the co-founders
of the Foundation. He welcomed
Dr. Jamshed J Irani and thanked him
for his acceptance to deliver the
oration. Mr. Nanda also shared a few
words about PFI and its work as the
National Secretariat for the
Community Action under NRHM.
Jnlide
World Population Day 2008
... 3
Chhattisgarh RRC Observes World
Population Day, 2008
... 3
Publication on IMR & CMR -
District Level Estimates
... 4
SATHI National Dissemination
Workshop
... 5
Health Promotion for Adolescent
Girls - Project Launched in Orissa ... 6
Dhanuri Centre Gets Government
Accreditation under Janani
Suraksha Yojana
... 7
Building Youth Cadre on life Skills
Education
... 8
Transparency and Accountability of
Elected Representatives
"Engaging with NGOs and Media" ... 9
The Global Fund Round 4 & Round 6
Program on HIV/ AIDS
... 10
Village Health Committee Feden~tion
Workshop in Jharkhand
... 11
Workshop on Documentation and
Review of MNGO Activities
... 12
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If,m 'he £xeculifle f)irec#,,', desk ...
The key recommendation that emerged from the
International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) suggests that the framework for all
population policies and programmes addressing the same
should be embedded in a holistic approach toward
reproductive health care. In the context of population
policies and programmes, this principle requires that there
should not be a singular focus on fertilityor familyplanning
services. A holisticframework includesprinciples of choice,
non-coercion, confidentiality, privacy, non-discrimination,
and quality of care as central tenets of providing basic
health care. These values must be incorporated into the
special relationship between providers and patients, as
well as enforced against private and public actors and
institutions.
The resolutions of the conference, known as the "Cairo
Consensus" were adopted with the specific goal to
empower women, promote gender equality, slow and
eventually stabilize population growth, and foster
sustainable economic growth in the world's poor countries.
Implicit in the resolution is the right of men and women
to be informed and to have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of
their choice and the right of access to health care services
that will enable women to go safely through pregnancy
and childbirth.
"Reproductive Rights" embrace certain human rights that
are already recognized in national laws, international
human rights documents and other relevant UN consensus
documents. These rest on the recognition of the basic
right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and
responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their
children and to have the information and means to do so,
and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and
reproductive health.
"Family Planning" is a fundamental component of
"Reproductive Health" as it allows for determining the
spacing of pregnancies. Studies show that family planning
has immediate benefits for the lives and health of mothers
and their infants. Ensuring basic access to family planning
could reduce maternal deaths by a third and child deaths
by as much as 20%. Family planning is also an effective
means in the fight against poverty. Parents can plan ahead
and devote more of their resources to the education and
health of each child, which benefits the family, community
and nation. On a broader levelfamilyplanning has reduced
fertility in developing countries from six to about three
births per woman over the past 40 years. Lower birth
rates contribute to slower population growth, which
enables social progress. This trend, known as the
"demographic dividend," occurs when populations of
young people are smaller than populations of adults. Fewer
investments are needed to meet the needs of the youngest
age groups and resources are instead invested in economic
development and family welfare.
Popfbcus
The opening remarks were made by Mr. Hari Shankar
Singh~ni~l Ch~irm~n, Governing bo~rd, PFI. He
mentioned that JRD Tata was a man deeply committed
to India's national growth and development and his
concern and contribution to the cause of social issues
like poverty, population stabilization and unemployment
is well known. Mr. Singhania traced the evolution of the
JRD Tata Memorial Oration which had begun as a lecture
series in 1990 and since then, has come a long way.
He discussed that back in 1952, India was the first country
in the world to launch a national programme emphasizing
on family planning for population stabilization. Since then
the Indian family planning programme has gone through
several phases, from population control to human
centered sustainable development and recognition of the
need for comprehensive reproductive health care.
He shared that the concept of Corporate Social
Responsibility may have found recognition only recently,
but the corporate sector in India, actually has a long history
of commitment to social philanthropy - thanks to the belief
that the creation of wealth is primarily geared for social
good. He concluded his remarks by mentioning that PH
has been fortunate to have received support from the
corporate sector in its activitiesand hoped that the support
not only continues, but increases manifold in the future.
Dr. Jamshed J. Irani delivering the oration, stressing on
the importance of corporates taking responsibility for the
communities they operate in. He spoke at length about
Mr. JRD Tata and his interest in population stabilization
that has also led to the setting up of the Population
Foundation of India.
He shared his ideas on the concept of corporate social
responsibility and expressed that corporate social
responsibility is not to be confused with philanthropy.
He chose to describe it as "corporate sustainability" which
is the guiding principle behind allTata communities, where
the corporate takes up the responsibility to ensure a good
quality of life for all communities where they work.
Dr. Irani elaborated with an example from the Tata House
itself, where 60 years ago, Tata Steel went in to Hazaribag
in West Bokaro that was supposed to have a good source
of coal. The work there started with looking after the
community - providing medicines, schools for children and
consequently developing the mining practices. Today, the
abovementioned area alone delivers 5 million tons of coal.
He concluded with saying that CSR is a sound investment
for all business houses, because the benefits of investing
in the community are manifold, and the same goes a
long way in getting Corp orates valued for ethical business
practices and sustainability.
Mr. B.G Deshmukh, Vice-Chairman, Governing Board,
PH gave the vote of thanks, summarizing the Oration
on "Corporate Social Responsibility and Issues of
Population Stabilization in India.", very aptly with a quote
by Mr. JRD Tata himself, "In a free enterprise, the
community is not just another stakeholder in business,
but is in fact the very purpose of its existence."
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Pop./Ocus
World Population Dav 2008
Population Foundation of India
observed "World Population
Day" on 11th July 2008 by organizing
a National Conference in partnership
with FICCI, UNFPA and Jansankhya
Sthirata Kosh (JSK). The theme of
the Conference was "Corporate
Engagement in Reproductive Rights:
Let's make it happen". The objective
of the Conference was to discuss
strategies that could engage industry
by presenting the current scenario and
future population projections and by
giving an opportunity to selected
companies to describe their own
initiatives that support the theme.
Shri Jairam Ramesh, Hon'ble
Minister of State for Commerce and
Power inaugurated the Conference
and delivered the keynote address.
He encouraged the Corporates to
come forward as a part of Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) and
promote strategies for the same.
Identified private sector companies
viz. Indo Gulf Fertilizers, Bhavishya
Alliance (ICICI Bank, HDFC and
Hindustan Unilever), Usha Martin,
Deepak Group of Companies and
Tata Chemicals Ltd. described their
The Hon 'ble Minister of State for Commerce and Power releasing a Wall Chart at the
National Conference. Others are (from left): Mr. Nesim Tumkaya, Country Representative,
UNFPA, Dr. Amit Mitra, Secretary General, FICCI, Ms. Shailaja Chandra, Executive Director,
Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK), Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, Member, PFI Governing
Board, Mr. A. R. Nanda, Executive Director, PFI and Mr. P K. Hota, Director, NIP!
initiatives around reproductive health
and family planning and showcased
their beneficiaries who spoke about
specific community
based
programmes and the health benefits
received by mothers and children
through the facilities provided.
Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury, Member
Governing Board, PFI chaired the
sessions of various presentations
made by the Corporates and PH
Mr. A. R. Nanda, Executive Director,
PFI emphasized on reproductive
rights and choices, which need to be
upheld in all circumstances, while
delivering family planning services.
Dr. Kumudha Aruldas, Additional
Director, PFI made a presentation on
"Working with the Corporate
Sector", highlighting PHs areas of
work, scope for financial and
technical support and previous work
undertaken with different corporates.
The conference received an
impressive response as there was
representation from international
agencies, public and private sector
companies, NGOs and media. •
Chhanisgarh RRCObserves World Population Dav, 2008
There are many challenges for the
country and population stabi-
lization is one such challenge for
which India is very serious. Any
discussion on the issue without
understanding the genesis of India's
population policy is perhaps
incomplete. The National Population
Policy 2000, took utmost care to
design strategies with which it can
achieve the goal of India's
population stabilization. The state of
Chhattisgarh took note of the
challenge very seriously and went a
step forward by viewing Health &
Population as intertwined facets. The
state developed an Integrated Health
& Population Policy and Population
Foundation of India (PFI) has the
credit of contributing to the drafting
of the policy which is on its way to
approval by State Government.
Further PFI is also the Regional
Resource Centre in the state for
I facilitating MNGO / SNGO scheme
under NRHM for working in unserved
and underserved areas in the state.
Lalitha Foundation, one of the Field
NGOs working on institutional
delivery and family planning,
organized a seminar on Population
stabilization and Family Planning to
reinforce the efforts of the stqte
government on World Population Day
(11th July 2008).
The idea was also to involve the
appointed MNGOs and FNGOs in
the state in population stabilization
through effective implementation of
Reproductive and ChildHealth activities
prescribed under National Rural Health
Mission especially in unserved and
underserved areas of the state.
Participants at the seminar included
the representatives of Mother NGOs,
Field NGOs, and other voluntary
organizations. There were 27
participants representing 13 organi-
sations working on RCH activities at
various places. Representatives from
RRC-PFI and the host organization
were also present.
The programme's introductory
session was facilitated by
Mr. Narasingh, Secretary of Lalitha
Foundation. Mr. Jagannath from
RRC-PfI inaugun~ted the
programme. Mr. Surya Prakash Singh
spelt out the objectives of the seminar
Contd. on page. 4
II
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PopJOcus
Publication on 1MB& CMB - District level Estimates
The Population Foundation of
India (PH) recently brought out a
new publication on Infant and Child
Mortality in India: District Level
Estimates. The publication is the joint
effort of the core authors Prof. S.
Irudaya Rajan from Center for
Development Studies (CDS), Kerala,
Dr. P. Mohanachandran Nair and
Dr. K. L. Sheela, University of Kerala
who prepared the estimates.
Dr. Lalitendu Jagatdeb and Mr. Nihar
Ranjan Mishra from Population
Foundation of India provided the
analytical write up.
The Infant Mortality Rate (IMR)and
Child Mortality Rate (CMR) are
sensitive indicators not only as
demographic measures but also as
key indicators from the programme
point of view. Child survival has been
accorded high priority by Govern-
ment in improving the health
situation of the population. Reducing
Infant Mortality Rate has been given
high priority in National Population
Policy 2000, National Rural Health
Mission (2005-12) and in the
Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
Keeping the above policy and
programme formulation in view, PH
undertook this exercise to provide
indirect estimates on vital rates of
mortality (Infant and Child Mortality)
by sex and place of residence for the
states and districts of India based
on the 2001 Census data. This
publication would be useful to the
academia, researchers, policy makers,
planners and programme managers
involved in the process of develop-
ment. The second part of this
publication with estimation by
religion, caste/tribe, education and
occupation is to follow.
Key Findings:
~ Among the states and union
territories, Madhya Pradesh has the
highest IMR(94) and Kerala has the
lowest (18). In case of ChildMortality
Rate, the same trend continues as
Madhya Pradesh has the highest
(102) and Kerala has the lowest (20).
The national IMR and CMR are 54
and 59 respectively.
~ The rural-urban differential with
respect to IMR is very wide in north
eastern states like Mizoram (1.9)
followed by Arunachal Pradesh
(1.6).The states like Delhi and Goa
have the least differential (1.0).
~ There is also gender differential
with respect to infant and child
mortality in some states. Female
IMR is more than male IMR in
states like Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar,
Mizoram, Nagaland and Kerala.
Female CMR is more in states like
Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil
Nadu, Punjab, Delhi and Nagaland.
~ Of the 593 disricts of India,
Kandhamal district in Orissa has
the highest IMR (121) and
Kottayam district in Kerala has the
lowest (13). With regard to CMR,
East Kameng district in Arunachal
Pradesh has the highest (141) and
Kottayam district in Kerala has the
lowest (14).
~ With regard to distribution of
districts by IMR, 338 districts have
IMR more than the national
average (54), 247 districts have
IMR less than national average
(54) and 8 districts have IMR equal
to national average (54).
~ Similarly in case of CMR, 350
districts have a CMR more than the
national average (59), 229 districts
have CMR less than the national
average of 59 and 14 districts have
CMR equal to national average
of 59.
•
Contd. from page 3
and gave the background of the
programme. He also elaborated on the
programme schedule to the
participants and gave information on
the state profile and demographic data
of Chhattisgarh with special reference
to the RCH & population indicators.
Mr. Jagannath made a power-point
presentation on the trends in
population growth and touched upon
factors that account for the high
population growth rate of India.
Mr. Surya Prakash Singh, Lalita
Foundation shared the mission, vision
and objectives of the National
Population Policy. He elaborated on
the goals and linked it with the
National Rural Health Mission. He
explained the strategies adopted
in the policy to meet the goal
and stressed on the important
components of the policy. Key
components of the draft Integrated
Health & Population Policy were
shared with the participants.
The following aspects related to
population stabilization were
deliberated upon by the participants:
• Age at marriage
• Maternal mortality ratio
• Infant mortality rate
• Child sex ratio
• Adolescent health
• Male participation in reproductive
& child health
• Quality of care
The need to design revised strategies
for voluntary organizations for
reinforcing the efforts of government
was emphasized.
The concluding session included a
discussion on reproductive rights and
modern familyplanning methods. The
organizations develop strategies to
increase acceptance of modern family
planning methods especially in areas
where the unmet need is higher. •
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Po p}Ocus
SATHINational Dissemination Workshop
AOne-d~y D~ssemination Work-
shop Makmg Married Adole-
scents Matter - Needs, Interventions
and Policies for Married Adolescents'
was held on August 21, 2008 at the
India International Center, New Delhi.
This event was jointly organized by
The Directorate of Health Services
Maharashtra, Institute of Health
Management, Pachod (IHMP) and
Population Foundation of India (PH).
The event was supported by the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation and Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust. The objective of the one-day
dissemination workshop was to share
the experiences of implementing the
Safe Adolescent Transition and
Health Initiative (SATHI)programme
in the rural and urban areas of
Aurangabad and Pune districts of
Maharastra; the baseline findings of
the RCT trial by the Directorate of
Health Services and the multi-site
NGO research initiative supported
by PH
SATHI has shown that problems like
maternal mortality and post natal
morbidity resulting from early
conception can be averted by making
sexual and reproductive health
services available to married
adolescent girls and achieving
significant behavioural change at the
individual and household levels.
The welcome speech at the workshop
was given by Dr. Kumudha Aruldas
Additional Director, POPulatio~
Foundation of India (PFI). She
introduced PH and its role to support
reproductive health and population
programmes in India. Dr. Ashok
Dyalchand, Director, IHMP, shared
the objectives of the workshop and
presented a brief background of the
, ••.••••
-O.tIIlI(IIIIllcrI.rI'-"""'f
••••••
"'irDlnlljiI •• l ••• -lJnl
Mr. Amarjit Sinha, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
Government of India addressing the participants. Others are (from left)
Dr. Ashok Dyalchand, Director, IHMp, Dr. Prakash Doke, Director, Health Services,
Government of Maharashtra, Ms. Poonam Muttreja, Country Director,
MacArthur Foundation and Dr. Kumudha Aruldas, Additional Director, PFI
initiative undertaken by IHMP. He
pointed out that the most important
demographic change was the delay
in conception. This in turn had
reduced the percentage of low birth
weight babies from 35 per cent to
25 per cent in rural areas and from
27.5 per cent to 18.8 percent in
urban areas. Further, a significant
achievement was the increase in use
of contraceptives from 10.9 per cent
to 23 per cent in rural areas and from
8 to 30 per cent in urban areas of
the project. Another key indicator of
this change was the reduction in
reproductive tract infections.
Dr. Prakash Doke, Director,
Health Services, Government of
Maharashtra, in his opening remarks
said the state had the liberty for the
first time to plan their health
programmes and avail of the financial
resources allocated by the National
Rural Health Mission (NHRM).
The state which is the first to
implement the project in collaboration
with IHMP has shown that problems
like maternal mortality and post natal
morbidity resulting from early conce-
ption can be
averted by
making sexual
and repro-
ductive health
services avail-
able to married
adolescent
girls and
achieving
significant
behavioral
change at the individual and
household levels.
Dr. Doke shared that the programme
was being currently implemented in
the 10 most 'backward' districts of
the state through 20 Primary Health
Centres. At present there is no
exclusive policy for married
adolescents and though this group
does find mention in many policies
and programmes such as the National
Youth Policy, National Rural Health
Mission/ Reproductive and Child
Health II (NRHM/RCH 11), the focus
is limited.
Ms. Poonam Muttreja, Country
Director, MacArthur Foundation in
her opening remarks said that
with IHMP taking the lead and
government of Maharashtra and
PFI collaborating on a focused
programme for adolescents the
future of married adolescents was
promising. She also discussed about
the need for such a program to be
scaled up.
Mr. Amarjit Sinha, Joint Secretary,
Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare, Government of India, in his
opening remarks mentioned that
there was a need to give focused
attention to specific problems of
various vulnerable groups like married
adolescent girls. Therefore, the
ministry would be happy to scale up
the intervention even though heglth
was a state subject. The ministry could
give the guidelines so that the married
Contd. on page 7
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PopJQcus
HBalth Promotion for AdolBscBnt Girls - ProjBct Launched in Orissa
The HePA-Ganjam, supported by
Population Foundation of India
(PFI), New Delhi in collaboration with
Multi Applied System (MAS),
Bhubaneswar and with the active
support of the District Administ-
ration, Ganjam was launched on
7th July, 2008. A District level
Workshop was organized to launch
the project. All concerned district
and block level officials, MAS
professionals,
UNICEF health
professional and leading NGOs
of Ganjam block attended the
program.
The function was formally inaugurated
by the District Collector and District
Magistrate, Mr. Madan Mohan Deo.
In his inaugural address, the Collector
highlighted the magni-tude of Iron
Deficiency Anemia (IDA) in Orissa and
how it was affecting the adolescent
girls (the future mothers) in the form
of malnutrition leading to several
complications. He spoke at length
about the causes of such deficiencies
and how, the objective of reducing
iron deficiencies among adolescent
girls through different interventions
under this project could be achieved.
He promised PFI and MAS to receive
all help from the district administration
to make this project a success.
While giving his welcome address,
Dr. B.B. Samanta, Chairman (Hon),
MAS and Project Director, HePA
talked about his earlier discussions
with the District Collector, Mr. V.
Kartikeyan Pandian and his keen
interest in the project. Dr. Samanta
made a Power Point presentation on
the project highlighting the objectives,
strategy, interventions proposed and
the type of support needed from the
various departments.
Mr. Sashi Bhushan Padhi, Additional
District Magistrate, discussed a few
challenges that the project may have
to take note of specifically in Ganjam.
These were, i) the age-old practice of
open and road-side defecation, ii)early
marriage of girls and iii) reluctance of
ladies in taking iron-folic acid tablets.
He promised all support to the project
staff in project implementation.
Dr. Rasha Bihari Gochayat, Chief
District Medical Officer (CDMO),
Ganjam offered suggestions on how
the project could facilitate and
reinforce the interventions proposed
under various health projects of the
State Government that have a
common goal. He emphasized the
importance
of informing the
adolescents about practicing safe sex
to prevent from spreading the
disease. He urged the health service
providers to take up their
responsibility seriously.
Some issues were thrown open to the
participants to solicit their views.
The "Visualization In Participatory
Programmes" (VIPP) methodology
was adopted for this purpose. For
every two participants a set of
questions along with cards was given
and they were asked to write their
views. The issues given to the
participants were:
• Inter-departmental coordination at
the block and village levels.
• Role of PRI members in the project.
• Choice of Community Health
Motivators (CHM).
• Role of PHCs and its functionaries.
Some suggestions
participants:
from the
On coordination
- Using the Health and Sanitation
Committees established at the
Block and Village levels under the
National Rural Health Mission as
a monitoring channel for the
project rather than creating a
separate coordination committee.
- Joint field visits to project areas by
officials of different departments to
be initiated by the project.
- Problems, if any, faced at block
level to be brought to the notice of
the concerned district level officials
for advice and intervention.
Similarly any problem at village
level to be addressed to the
concerned block official.
On the role of PRI members
- Organizing regular meetings of the
Village Health and Sanitation
Committee.
- Motivating households to have their
own toilet and use it plus monitoring
the progress of TSC in the project
village.
- Helping the project staff for
hemoglobin and stool tests of
adolescent girls.
- Monitoring the use of IFA and de-
worming tablets by the adolescent
girls.
- Ensuring provision of safe water to
all households.
On the choice of CHMs
- Should be from the same village,
educated enough to read and
understand various documents,
married, willing to take the
responsibility and work with other
village functionaries and a potential
change agent.
Provisional selection by the
Anganwadi Workers in consultation
with ASHA and SHGs.
Endorsement of the final list by the
Gram Pancahyat to ensure
community ownership.
On the role of PHCs
- Assist in organizing health camp and
providing additional inputs like
medicines required plus sparing the
services of MOs and paramedical
staff (at least one day in a week to
cover two project villages).
- Including health-related project
messages in their IEC and BCC
activities.
- Motivating married adolescent girls
on spacing and ensuring the
required services.
- Help in organizing sessions in
schools on ARSH for adolescent
girls.
Mr. S. B. Padhi, Additional District
Magistrate in charge of the social sector
programs at district level, chaired the
concluding session and gave the
valedictory address. He reiterated the
importance of the project and the
responsibility of different departments
to make it a success, and advised them
to implement the recommendations
made in the workshop. He assured full
support from the district administration
for the project.
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PopfOcus
Dhanuri Centre Gets Government Accreditation
under Janani Suraksha Yoiana
Population Foundation of India
(PH) along with Action Research
Training and Health (ARTH),
Udaipur, a well known technical
support agency in the field of mother
and child health, launched a three
year project of Safe Motherhood
through RCH interventions in
Rajasthan, in partnership with three
non governmental organizations,
Shiv Shiksha Samiti, Ranoli in Tonk,
Shikshit Rojgar Kendra Prabandhak
Samiti (SRKPS), Jhunjhunu and
SWERA in Ajmer districts. ARTH has
also developed a 'Community based
24 hour centre model for maternal
health services' operated by Nurse-
Midwives to provide quality RCH
services to rural community.
The project aims at providing
affordable, accessible and quality
health services specially the ante,
intra and post natal health care.
The main objective of the project is
to deliver quality safe motherhood
and RCH services by establishing
health centers accessible to identified
villages through trained nurse
midwives and by conducting regular
field clinics. The project also aims to
raise awareness in the community
and among important stakeholders
like PRIs and AWWs on the issue of
safe motherhood and RCH.
Three health sub-centres were set up
at village Ranoli in district Tonk,
village Luna in district
Jhunjhunu and in
village Kanpura in
district Ajmer. Later,
SRKPS shifted the
health center from
Luna to a more
accessible village
Dhanuri in the month
of December 2007.
The second phase of
the project started in
April 2008 with the aim to develop
two of the centres in Tonk at Ranoli
and in Jhunjhunu at Dhanuri,
respectively, as model sub-centers
with active referral linkages. The
model sub-centres are expected to
provide a template on which the state
government could model its sub-
centres.
The health centres under the project
were providing excellent ante, intra
and post natal care to a large
proportion of women from the
project area till the launch of the
Janani Suraksha Yojana. With the
launch of Janani Suraksha Yojana the
centres faced a sort of crisis as
most of the deliveries got diverted to
government run Primary Health
Centres just for the sake of monetary
incentives although most women
still continued to access the
health centres for ante and post natal
care.
Hence, advocacy with the state
government for accreditation of
project health centres became one of
the prime objectives under the second
phase of the project.
It is heartening to note that with the
concerted efforts of SRKPS, ARTH
and PH, the Dhanuri Health Centre
christened 'Apano Swathya Kendra'
meaning 'Our Health Centre' has
received accreditation from the
Government of Rajasthan under the
Janani Suraksha Yojana. An MoU to
this effect was signed between the
Chief Medical and Health Officer,
Jhunjhunu and the Secretary, SRKPS
Jhunjhunu on 26th August, 2008.
The immediate impact of the
accreditation was a substantial
increase in the number of women
availing safe delivery services from the
health center. Efforts are on to get
accreditation for the second health
centre at Ranoli, Tonk.
adolescent programme could be
implemented within the existing
health programmes like the National
Rural Health Mission.
The workshop was divided into two
sessions where presenters from DHS,
Maharashtra, IHMP and PH made
presentations on the importance of
the issue, findings from the pilot,
experiences of the RCT and gaps in
various policies. Dr. Saroj Pachauri,
Regional Director, South and East
Asia, Population Council and
Professor Ranjit Roy Chaudhury,
Member, Governing Board, PFI
chaired the sessions.
Prof. Ranjit Roy Chaudhury concluded
the session by mentioning that it was
noteworthy that the Maharashtra state
government had taken on the IHMP
programme and shown the way to the
rest of the country. He said that most
people would take the best districts so
that they could get better results.
He was informed by Dr. Doke that
they chose the most backward districts
that they could prove that if focused
interventions made in backward
districts could work, it could work
elsewhere in the country.
This was followed by a media
interaction to disseminate the main
objectives of the workshop and to
share the evidence collected by
the SATHI project. In addition to
Dr. Kumudha Aruldas who talked
about the aims of the workshop and
the role of PH in the efforts to upscale
the project, information was shared
by Dr. Dyalchand, Director, IHMP,
Dr. Khale, IHMP and Dr. Prakash
Doke, Director, Health Services,
Maharashtra. Anjana, a married
adolescent girl, also shared her
experience and how she benefited
from the interventions made by
IHMP.
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PopJOcus
Building Youth Cadre on life Skills Education
Incollaboration with Nehru Yuva
Kendra (NYKj,Gaya, Bihar, PH has
imparted Life Skill Training to
Adolescents for Nation Building:
Building Youth Cadre for the young
adults of Gaya district of Bihar. Before
the commencement of the training,
a ToT was organized by NYK (as
contribution to the effort). Twenty
persons were trained out of which six
were identified as master trainers for
the entire programme. There were
eight batches of training programmes
and 262 youth club members
(belonging to the age group of 13 to
19) were trained.
Dr. Manju Sharma, Dr. A H. Khan,
Dr. Rabindra Kumar Pathak, Dr. Dilip
Kumar Sinha, Smt. S. Dhan and
Shri Kishori extended their support
as external resource persons in the
training.
Following the training, an impact
assessment was undertaken by an
external researcher to assess the
changes among the trainees and their
contribution in bringing changes in
their family and the community.
The assessment targeted the trainees,
their peers, family members and
school teachers. The overall impact
of the efforts was reflected in the
changes reported by the trainees.
"[ have been nursing the ambition to become an air hostess whenever [ saw airplanes flying over our
village. When [ was a teenager [ remember that, [ hardly spoke to people. [ was shy even with my
mother and friends. This was perhaps due to the physical changes [ was experiencing, which [ could
not understand. Sometimes [ could not concentrate on my studies and any other work [ used to do.
Then the Youth Club Member and NYK volunteer of our village, Mr. Rakesh informed me and my
parents about the Life Skill Training. With the consent of my parents [ became the part of the 8 day
long process. Now, six months after the training my parents and my friends can see how [ have
changed. [ am now out-spoken and open to discussions and views from others. [am now self confident
and concentrating better on my studies. [am working towards making my dream of becoming an air
hostess a reality. "
"[ was fifteen years old when [ got married in 1972. My thinking was different at that time.
[ was 16 when [ became father. [ became the father of four children when [ was just 21.
[completed my graduation in Arts at the age 21. [had chosen farming as my profession. Now one of
my sons is a local medical practitioner and the others are youth club members and they are self
employed. My eldest daughter got married when she was 15. Now things are changing. My younger
daughter oriented me on Life Skill education and enlightened my knowledge further. [ am now aware
of the age when the physical changes occur within us. This fulfills the life with peace and harmony.
Now [ know the right age for marriage of my daughter.· [ will not let her marry until she is self reliant.
Now she is going to college 16 kilometers away from our village by a bi-cycle. [am confident that she
can take good decisions in her life".
- Ram Prakash Verma, father of Sunita Verma, Naili Village, Chandauti block, Gaya
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\\A;
PopJOcus
Transparencv and Accountabilitv of Elected Representatives
"Engaging with NODsand Media"
Advocacy with elected repre-
sentatives is an important part
of PHs overall advocacy efforts with
diverse stakeholders particularly on
the issue of reproductive health and
family planning. The objective has
been to build perspective of the
members on RH/FP issues and create
platforms for building accountability
of elected members. In doing so the
Foundation realized that most
members did not get timely and
relevant information on the key issues
and most civil society organisations
particularly NGOs were not aware of
the role, functions and performance
of elected members. The Foundation
therefore began with tracking of issues
that are questioned and discussed
by members in the parliament on
RH/FP and developing relevant issue
briefs of RH/FP issues highlighting
the debate on the issues and govern-
ment programmes. The issue briefs
and the list on type of questions raised
in parliament were widely dissemi-
nated by PFI among NGOs and
journalists. Both felt that there was
need for discussion on the issue of
engaging with parliamentarians.
Subsequently in Bihar, PH began with
a discussion fora with NGOs and
journalists to understand the nature
of advocacy with elected representa-
tives in the state, the role played by
media in improving accountability of
elected members and identifying
future priorities. The following
sections are highlights from these two
preliminary efforts.
As part of PHs effort in building civil
society capacity to undertake
advocacy with legislators, two
workshops were held in Bihar in
partnership with PRS Legislative
Research with the objective of building
skills on using existing
information on legis-Iators
effectively, sharing NGO
examples in advocating
with legislator in Bihar and
possible areas of reporting
on accountability issues of
elected representatives.
The 15t workshop with
NGOs was held on 18th
July 2008 and the 2nd
with print journalists in
collaboration with Pehel
on 5th September 2008
at Patna.
PRS Legislative Research which is an
independent organization that works
towards strengthening the legislative
process in India by making it better
informed, more transparent and
participatory, has been providing an
understanding on the type of data
sources for example election
affidavits, Member of Pariliament
Local Area Development (MPLAD)
fund utilization, MP and MLA
amenities, questions raised in
Parliament to various stakeholders
including the civil society.
Participating NGOs shared their
experience of engaging with
legislators in Bihar in relation to the
issue of two child norm in Panchayat
elections, right to food, and health
services in Bihar. The sharing also
highlighted the challenges in
advocating with elected members
such as roadblocks on party related
issues and lack of forums for interface
between elected and civil society
members in the state. Among print
journalists in the state there was a
high level of awareness on the roles
and functions of elected members
from the state. The print journalists
mentioned that they would publish
articles focusing on utilization of
MPLAD funds, asset declaration,
good work done by individual
legislators and statements made by
legislators in the media on social
issues as a step for pre election
campaign. They felt that the
information portals shared by PRS
will be extremely useful for them in
tracking performance of individual
members on development issues.
Both the workshops were useful for
the participants. They shared that
legislative accountability is the most
important need of the day and the
workshops like these are the first step
towards engaging NGO and Media
with the MLAs and MPs. However
there is a need for increased and
collective effort at the state level by
the NGOs. Journalists felt the
workshop generated possibilities for
useful stories on legislators and
discussions like these at district level.
Identifying the gaps in information
gathering it was recommended by the
participants in both the workshops
that, the state legislative assembly
should have an official website like
the website of the parliament.
Workshop on Strategic Communication, Manila, Philippines
A Three-day Workshop on Strategic Communication was held in Manila, Philippines from 27 - 29 August 2008.
PH as lead country organization in their effort lead a team of Master Trainers from India to share it's experience
on undertaking strategic communication training using the"Smart Chart" tool in the country. PH also learnt from
similar efforts in Pakistan and Philippines. The entire effort is led by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation,
US and The Communication Leadership Institute (CLI)who developed the Smart Chart tool.
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PopJbcus
The Global Fund Round 4 & Round 6 Program on HIV/AIDS
Review Meeting at Udaipur
Quarterly review meeting of
Round 4 and Round 6 HIV/
AIDS program with the State and
Regional team of PH was organized
during 19-21 August 2008 at
Udaipur. The purpose of the meeting
was to review the program progress
across the 14 states. A session on
documentation and writing skillswas
also conducted on the last day of the
review meeting.
Coordination at the District level
of ART Centres and Community
Care Centres
Regular meetings have been taking
place at the district level between the
Community Care Centres, ART
centres and DLNs in the states of
Gujarat, West Bengal and Uttar
Pradesh. This is being initiated in
other states as well for smooth
coordination between all stakeholders
at the district level so that PLHAs
have easy access to treatment and
care and receive quality services.
ART-CCC coordination meetings
have been initiated in West Bengal,
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan,
Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Representatives from the various
Targeted Intervention partners,
CBOs and PLHA Network attended
these meetings. The agenda of these
meetings was to inform the
stakeholders about the roles,
objectives and services available at the
Community Care Centre (CCC),
linkages with ART centre, follow up
of clients, adherence monitoring and
tracing of defaulter clients. These
meetings have helped in ironing out
issues of coordination at the district
level between the ART centres, CCC
and other stakeholders.
Interaction Meetings
Based on the success of interaction
meetings with service providers,
PLHAs and community in the
Global Fund Round 4 HIV/ AIDS
programme, these meetings have
been initiated in selected districts of
Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• To bridge the gap between PLHAs
and providers
• To provide an equal platform for
sharing views
• To provide a forum for discussion
of problems faced by PLHAs and
the service providers
• To update participants' knowledge
of the disease and the programme
• To increase treatment adherence
and enrolment of PLHAs in the
network
These meetings were attended by the
DLN members, ART centre staff,
District T.B. Officer, ICTC in-charge
and counselors, Human Rights Law
Network (an agency working for
rights of PLHA), Adhyaksha of the
Zila Parishad, family members of the
PLHAs and other organizations
working on the issue of HIV in the
district. The meetings were facilitated
by the PH Regional offices and the
PH PMU.· HRLN members informed
that there are no specific provisions
for PLHAs listed in the law, but there
are provisions in the Constitution by
which nobody can deny any woman
their property rights under any
circumstances.
The meetings helped in breaking the
barriers between the different health
care providers like the ART centers,
ICTC, other health programs and the
PLHAs. It also gave them an
opportunity to get an insight into their
rights and the laws and how and
when they can avail legal help.
The meetings helped in sensitizing the
local media as well as helped in
bringing elements of togetherness and
paved the way for PLHAs to adhere
to the treatment.
Advocacy Meeting
(with PRI, Health and ICDS)
The Global Fund Round-6 aims to
"create an enabling environment for
multi-sectoral convergence to
mainstream, converge and integrate
gender, reproductive health and
HIV/AIDS". Advocacy workshops
were organized by Population
Foundation of India in Seoni and
Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh
in March and Jodhpur in Rajasthan
in May 2008.
In line with this, a meeting was
organized in Darbhanga, Bihar on
26th September, 2008 for district and
block level health functionaries,
Integrated Child Development
Scheme and Panchyati Raj Institution
(PRIs) to mainstream HIV/ AIDS and
focus on reducing stigma and
discrimination.
The meeting was inaugurated by
Dr. Bhola Singh, Minister, Urban
Development, Bihar & In charge of
20 Point Program of Darbhanga, and
chaired by Arun Prasad, District
Magistrate, Darbhanga.
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The MLA, Additional District
Magistrate, PRI Block Represent-
atives, Block Development Officer,
Child Development Project Officer,
MOI/C, District TB Officer, ART
Doctor and local and adjoining district
NGOs and media also participated in
the meeting. In all, 96 participants
attended the meeting and shared their
views, experiences and strategies to
include HIV/ AIDS in their regular
program of RCH and Family
Planning.
Dr. Bhola Singh, Minister, Urban
Development, Bihar addressed the
gathering and said that all should be
aware about the HIV/ AIDS and its
prevention. He also highlighted that
there is need of continuous public
awareness campaign and advised to
organize rallies at District and Block
levels.
The meeting was also addressed
by District TB Officer, Child
Development Project Officer,PR Bihar
unit and representatives from NGOs.
The house unanimously took an oath
to address the issue of HIV/ AIDS
collectivelyand discussit in the meetings
of AWW,ANM and at the Gram Sabha.
PopJOCUs
In August and September 2008,
PFI conducted refresher trainings
on MIS for all the Community
Care Centres and District Level
Networks set up tillSeptember 2008.
The objective of the training was to
ensure proper, complete and correct
understanding on final version of
MIS so that all service delivery
points implement the same effectively
and uniformly.
•
Village Health Committee Federation Workshop
in Jharkhand
The project "Improvement of
Maternal and Child Health through
Life Cycle Approach", supported by
Population Foundation of India has a
new feather in its cap. The project,
started in April 2004 in association
with Child in Need Institute (CIN!)and
Nav Bharat Jagrity Kendra ( NBJK)
in Churchu Block of Hazaribagh
district in Jharkhand renders services
to a population of 85,000. During
its implementation the project
concentrated on strengthening
capacities of NGOs for programme
implementation with a desired level
of quality of care. Under this project,
community based institutions were
formed such as Village Health
Committees (VHC), Youth Groups
and SHGs. In this phase, Village
Health Volunteers, locally known as
"Saahiyas" were selected and Trained
Birth Attendents (TBAs) were
identified. The VHC members are
federated at block level to develop a
better liaison with government
functionaries and also to address
health issues of the area in a more
meaningful way.
VHCs from all 85 villages have come
together to form a "Federation" at
the block level with the purpose of
strengthening people's advocacy for
implementation of government health
services in the block, The Feden;ltion
has members representing each VHC
and 5 office bearers. The Federation
meets once a month to discuss
problems in the villages. Some of the
issues discussed include improper
implementation of JSY, difficulties in
getting untied fund benefits for
VHSCs and non-availability of
medicines in sub centers and PHCs,
irregularity of ANMs visit to villages
etc. The Federation is yet to be
registered formally, and in the
meantime functions from a Block level
community center (which was not in
use earlier) in Churchu block.
A two d~y workshop w~s org"nized
by CINI and NBJK to build capacity
of the federation for carrying out
activities effectively in the region.
The workshop was attended by 40
members of the Federation with an
objective of developing a strategy for
availing untied fund of Rs. 10,000/-
from the state government for VHCs.
All the 65 VHCs have already been
linked with the banks and the
notification of the same needs to be
submitted to Civil Surgeon for final
verification. During the workshop, a
draft guideline was also prepared for
the utilization of the untied fund.
The guideline will be finalized in
consultation with government
functionaries.
11I_-
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PopJOcus
Workshop on Documentation and Review of MNGOActivities
Regional Resource Centre,
Chhattisgarh run by PFI, has been
continuing efforts to build the capacity of
appointed Mother NGOs under NRHM
to implement the RCH-II activities at
unserved and underserved areas. From
22nd to 25th September 2008, the RRC
conducted a workshop on documentation
and review of MNGO activities in two
phases, covering six MNGOs & forty two
Field NGOs. This was the first formal
workshop, where the Field NGOs were
included directly by RRC in the capacity
building efforts. Mr. Yogesh Kumar from
Samarthan, Bhopal was the resource
person for the workshop supported by
the in house trainer, Mr. Jagannath
Kompella and Mr. Debabrata Bhuniya of
PFI, New Delhi.
The objectives of the Workshop
were:
• To identify the lacunae and poor
performing components in the MNGO
scheme and to resolve them;
• To establish a direct communi-cation
with FNGOs by RRC so that day to
day review of activities can be ensured;
• To resolve the issues emerging
between the MNGOs and FNGOs and
to facilitate establishment of good
relations between the organizations
and government;
• To establish the pregnant women
tracking system properly at the project
areas;
• To improve knowledge and skill in
systematic documentation.
Outcome of the Workshop
The participants were made conversant
with qualitative and quantitative aspects
of documentation. A perspective building
session was taken in which discussion on
the project activities and outcomes was
held. A detailed discussion was held on
the qualitative aspects of documenting
event reports, case studies and minutes
of group meetings. The quantitative
aspects of reporting such as reporting
formats, generating field level data, and
MISwere discussed. Group exercises were
also carried out. An attempt was made
to take stock of the situation as far as the
scheme implementation was concerned
in the state. A review of the MNGO
activities till date was done and an
experience sharing session with the Field
NGOs was facilitated. This session helped
in identifying gaps, solving difficulties
faced by the FNGOs and making
necessary strategies to address some
issues from the government side.
Certain achievements, listed below, were
shared during the review sessions:
1. The system of tracking all the target
groups (pregnant women, eligible
couples and children below the age
of 2 years) introduced by RRC,
Chhattisgarh, is in place and the
formats for tracking them are being
regularly filled in by all FNGOs.
2. The FNGOs have rendered valuable
contribution to the recently conducted
Health Camps proposed by the State
Health Department in the most
backward villages. The department
appreciated their contribution. In the
district of Dhamtari and Bastar, the
FNGOs ensured that the patients
turnout was more than 1200 in all the
camps, which by itself is a record in
the history of Chhattisgarh.
3. Seven FNGOs and two MNGOs were
selected as the implementing partners
for the Target Intervention programme
of AIDS Control supported by
CGSACS under NACO. Advocacy
attempts by the RRC to facilitate
selection of the MNGOs were
appreciated.
4. One MNGO and four FNGOs have
been selected as implementing
partners in the Community Based
Monitoring Programme launched as
pilot programme under NRHM and
they have made good progress. •
We welcome ...
Ms. Lopamudra Paul
who has joined the
Foundation as Research
Associate (Monitoring
and Evaluation). She has
M.Phil Degree in Popu-
lation Studies and is presently pursuing
Ph.D in Population Studies from
Jawaharlal Nehru University,
New Delhi. She has vast experience
on data management, survey design
and evaluation.
Dr. Ritu Kumar Mishra
who has joined the
Foundation as Strategic
Information and Evalua-
tion (SIE)Associate for the
Global Fund Round 6
project. He has a Ph.D in Population
Studies from Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi. He has more
than 3 years of experience in
Reproductive and Sexual Health and
HIV/AIDS.
We bade farewell to ...
Mr. Laxmikant Rao worked with PH
as Programme Associate (Advocacy and
Communication). He has joined
Population Services International (PSI)
as Regional Manager (Communications).
Editorial Guidance
Mr A.R. Nanda
Ms Sona Sharma
Editor
Ms Chandni Malik
Editorial Assistance
Ms Jolly Jose
Editorial Committee
Ms Usha Rai
Dr Almas Ali
Dr Kumudha Aruldas
Dr Lalitendu Jagatdeb
Dr Sharmila G. Neogi
Published by
Population Foundation of India
B-28, Qutab Institutional Area, New Delhi-110016,
Tel: 91-11-42899770, 42899771
Fax: 91-11-42899795
e-mail: popfound@sify.com
website: www.popfound.org
India
II