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Popfocus 2010 July December English PFI |
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Volume XXIII; No.3 July–December 2010
THE POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA NEWSLETTER
Experts discuss empowering approaches to population stabilization
New Delhi: How do you reposition
family planning within a non-coercive,
rights based and gender sensitive
framework that is pro-people, pro-
poor, pro-women and pro-youth?
At a round table conference
Empowering Approach to
Population Stabilization organized
by PFI, health and population experts
debated the issue.
Dr Abhijit Das, Director, Centre for
Health and Social Justice, said it is
important to involve men in the family
planning programme. This could be
done by addressing their needs and
anxieties, appointing male leaders in
the community and within the health
system and engaging male volunteers
alongside ASHAs to work with men.
He also suggested longitudinal and
cross-sectional studies to understand
the risks of tubectomy performed
under various circumstances.
Unmet need and the desire for
small families
Dr Abhijit Das pointed out that unmet
needs for contraceptives continue to
remain high, with an overall unmet
need of 13 per cent. In UP, Bihar and
Jharkhand it is over 20 per cent.
Contraceptive use is the highest in
Himachal Pradesh (73 per cent) and
West Bengal (71 per cent). Female steri-
lization accounts for about 66 per cent
of contraceptive methods used.
While providing an overview of
demographic changes, he said there
has been an increase in overall
Dr Sharad Iyengar of ARTH, Rajasthan at the conference
contraceptive usage in India, from
41 per cent in 1992-93 to 56 per
cent in 2005-06. There has been a
similar increase in rural India from
37 per cent to 53 per cent. The total
Inside
North-Central region important
for India’s population trends
...3
On the road to empowerment ...4
Family Planning Counselors
oriented on MIS and IPCC
...5
Strengthening Village Health &
Sanitation Committees in
Haryana
...6
Learning through exposure
...7
Tribals in Jharkhand
...8
Happy again
...8
Back on track
...8
The march for youth
...9
PACT
...10
Strengthening public health ...11
PFI welcomes Poonam Muttreja
and bids farewell to A R Nanda ...12
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From the Executive Director’s desk...
It is with pleasure that I present the first biannual issue of
Popfocus. I joined the Population Foundation of India in
September 2010 after being with the John D and Catherine
T MacArthur Foundation for over 15 years as Country
Director. I am fortunate to enter at a time when PFI is well
established and gearing up to scale new heights.
Forty years have seen PFI gain many accolades as it grew
from a few people to over a hundred. Programmes evolved
from a narrow approach to population issues to a broader
focus on reproductive health in keeping with the changing
times.
However, a key challenge now is to reposition family
planning within the broader framework of reproductive
health and primary health. While this has been the rhetoric
in the new paradigm post ICPD, in actual implementation,
family planning still continues to be administered as a vertical
programme.
Additionally, with the advent of the 2011 Census, lurks
the fear of the spotlight returning to numbers and
targets with little or no concern for people themselves.
The challenge will be to retain the focus on people’s needs
and ensure that both policy and programmes are people
friendly, gender sensitive and rights based.
On the positive side, the policy environment presents many
opportunities too. The Government of India recognizes the
need for repositioning family planning in the context of
maternal and child health and has renewed efforts to do
so. The communitization process, as mandated under the
National Rural Health Mission, has also been initiated in
many states as has the process of planning from village
upwards based on community needs assessment.
The meeting of the National Commission on Population
held in October 2010 under the chairmanship of the
Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, reaffirmed the
Government’s commitment to bring population stabilization
back on the agenda. The Chair emphasized that population
stabilization needs to be accorded high priority and brought
back into political discourse at all levels. The proceedings
highlight the need to develop a family planning strategy
that focuses on delaying age at marriage, delaying birth of
the first child and promoting birth-spacing.
PFI is gearing up to new opportunities and challenges.
A rigorous strategic planning exercise has been initiated
with key stakeholders to converge on ideas and strategies
for repositioning family planning. PFI’s roles and areas of
primary focus are also being charted and redefined.
Furthermore, PFI has undertaken an organizational
transformation exercise to align itself to the call of the hour.
We, at PFI, are committed to working on ensuring a rights
based, gender sensitive and people friendly approach to
family planning. We value the support of all our readers
and partners as we embark on the road to positive change
with renewed vigour.
Poonam Muttreja
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fertility rate has also declined from 3.4 in 1992-93
to 2.7 in 2005-06. The total wanted fertility rate for
the country is 1.9, which indicates an overall desire
for smaller families. Dr Das ended his presentation
by highlighting the need to strengthen the service
delivery system and ensuring that women’s choices
and needs are incorporated in the planning process.
Poor use of spacing methods
Dr Sundari Ravindran, Honorary Professor, Achutha
Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Sree
Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences
and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, gave a
presentation on Fertility Decline and Women’s
Reproductive Health in Tamil Nadu.
She said that for a long time the state has been in
the limelight for being a good performer in achieving
family planning targets, and more recently, for
substantial increase in the proportion of institutional
deliveries.
However, she drew attention to the fact that the
methods adopted for achieving these targets did not
always ensure family planning and reproductive
rights. According to available statistics, low fertility,
which may have been achieved through induced
abortion, was accompanied by poor use of spacing
methods and low level of male responsibility for
fertility control. Citing a study conducted in five
districts of Tamil Nadu in 2008-2009, Dr Ravindran
pointed out that in spite of 98 per cent of deliveries
taking place in hospitals, medical termination of
pregnancy in the public sector is declining and the
availability of sexual and reproductive health (SRH)
services is still limited. Although, there is little variation
in TFR by socio-economic characteristics or place of
residence, inequalities may be substantial for other
indicators. Thus, there is a need for more systematic
evidence on reproductive health and health
inequalities.
She emphasized the importance of fertility reduction
in contributing to women’s empowerment and
development. However, she said it needs to be
associated with specific investments for improving
women’s health including SRH and rights and poverty
reduction.
Films with messages
Two films, produced by PFI were screened at this
gathering. The film, Haule Haule, was developed
for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with
support from the MacArthur Foundation. It has been
produced and directed by the renowned theatre
director and Bollywood film maker, Mr Feroz Abbas
Khan. The film puts forth key messages on increasing
age at marriage, the importance of delaying first
pregnancy, spacing between two children, women’s
empowerment, male involvement, better health
Contd. on page 5
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North-Central region important for India's population trends
Lucknow: The demographics in the
North-Central region have substantial
implications for India’s population
trends. Twenty five per cent of India’s
population, or every fourth person in
India is from here and a little more
than four per cent of the world’s
population or every twenty-fifth
person is from here as well.
Dr Sulabha Parasuraman, Professor
and Head, Department of Population
Policies and Programmes, Inter-
national Institute for Population
Sciences, Mumbai, pointed this out
in her keynote address at the North-
Central Regional Conference on
Health, Population and Social
Development.
She highlighted that the region grew
by a two per cent rate of natural
growth in 2008 and is expected to
have 25.8 per cent share of India’s
population by 2011, 26.6 per cent
by 2021 and 26.9 per cent by 2026.
She emphasized that if government
programmes like NRHM were
implemented properly in this region,
it would not be difficult to accelerate
the demographic transition.
Speaking at the inaugural session,
Dr Syeda Hameed, Member, Planning
Commission, said that the
commission had developed a matrix,
which allows citizens and civil society
to express their expectations along a
broad range of topics such as
corruption, gender, education, animal
husbandry, environment, land, health
and agriculture. On the basis of the
Participants at the conference
Dr Syeda Hameed releasing the wall chart. Others from left: Mr Hari Shankar
Singhania, Chairman and Mr B G Deshmukh, Vice-Chairman, PFI Governing Board
inputs received in the matrix, an
approach paper for the 12th Five
Year Plan is being developed. She
urged and invited all the civil society
partners to participate in this planning
process and share their expectations.
Dr Syeda Hameed also released a
publication containing the important
demographic and health indicators of
every district in the four North-Central
states, along with a wall chart
providing a graphic display of key
health and population issues.
Third regional conference
The conference, organized on August
18-19, 2010, was the third in a series
of regional conferences planned
across the country to commemorate
40 years of PFI.
Mr Hari Shankar Singhania,
Chairman, PFI Governing Board, in
his inaugural address pointed out that
over 51 per cent of the country’s
population was in the reproductive
age group. This was not only a
potential in terms of human resource
but also a challenge in terms of the
government’s ability to provide quality
health care and education services
that would enable them to be
productive.
The conference covered issues
related to two major themes: Family
Planning with Quality of Care and
Maternal, Neonatal, Child Health
and Nutrition. Efforts by the
government, innovative interventions
by NGOs and corporate response to
local needs were reviewed across the
six sessions.
Key recommendations
Some of the key recommendations
emerging from the conference were:
• High levels of unmet needs for
family planning in the states of
Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh call
for concerted efforts to meet the
existing demand for contraception.
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• Family planning is not just a supply
side problem but more of a quality
issue. There needs to be an
increased focus on counselling of
the client for family planning.
Institutional deliveries are a key
point of contact that can be utilized
to counsel women for family
planning.
• While the North-Central region
(excluding Uttarakhand) has low
levels of social and economic
development, there exist examples
of states with similar levels of
development, having achieved the
desired fertility rates, like Andhra
Pradesh. There was thus a need to
learn from the successful strategies
in such states.
• Institutional deliveries are on the
rise in all states. However, there are
still a large number of deliveries
taking place at home. It is
important to ensure that there are
safety provisions for women who
do not deliver in institutions.
• As a large proportion of the
population is young and 50 per
cent marriages are taking place
before the age of 18 years, we
need to focus on spacing methods
as young people need these
services the most.
• The IMR in these four states differs
by literacy, wealth index, birth
interval and mother’s age at birth.
The figures clearly highlight the
need for improvement in all these
indicators, especially for spacing
births and increasing age at
marriage, if infant mortality is to
be reduced.
• In order to lower infant mortality,
there is a need for a shift from
illness management to prevention
as most newborns die within the
first week of birth.
• Programmes focusing on male
involvement must include
counselling for men and address
their reproductive health needs.
Vice-Chairman, PFI Governing
Board, Mr B G Deshmukh, and other
distinguished Governing Board
members including Justice Leila Seth,
Mr B G Verghese, Prof Ranjit
Roy Chaudhury, Dr Abid Hussain,
Mr J C Pant and Dr Nina Puri also
participated.
The states were represented by senior
officials. They included the Mission
Director NRHM, Government of
Madhya Pradesh, Dr Manohar
Agnani; Additional Director RCH,
DGHS, Government of Uttarakhand,
Dr Asha Mathur; State Nodal Officer,
Immunization, Family Planning and
RCH, Government of Chhattisgarh,
Dr Subhash Pandey; General
Manager, Family Planning, Dr Manju
Mehrotra and General Manager,
Planning, NRHM, Government of
Uttar Pradesh, Dr Aruna Narain.
Conference series
The first in the conference series was
the Regional Conference on
Population, Health and Social
Development for the Eastern
Region: Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa
and West Bengal, which was
organized in Bhubaneswar on
February 16-17, 2010. The second
conference for the Western Region:
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan,
was held in Pune on May 13-14,
2010. These conferences are an
endeavour to bring key stakeholders
– government representatives,
members of civil society, social
scientists, scholars, national/
international institutions and NGOs
on one platform for discussions.
The goal of these conferences has
been to bring out region-specific
priorities and issues and recommend
strategies that will help in improving
the status of population, health and
social development.
Speakers at the conference (from left to right): Dr Nina Puri, Ms Shilpa Nair, Mr R U Singh, Dr Ragini Prem and Dr K R Antony
On the road to empowerment
Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu):
When Mahalakshmi (name changed)
lost her husband to HIV, it felt as if
darkness had completely engulfed her
life. Her husband was the sole earning
member of the family and she had
no idea how she would feed and bring
up her two little children.
Her husband had tested HIV positive
after a prolonged illness. After he
passed away, her family ostracized
her. She felt depressed and attempted
suicide many times. Finally, she
gathered courage and got herself
tested for HIV. She found she was
also HIV positive.
She then met the Antiretroviral
Therapy counselor at the government
hospital and was informed about the
District Level Network (DLN) for
PLHIV in Virudhunagar. Here she
was counseled on positive living and
asked to participate in the support
group meetings. She met people who
had gone through the same ordeal in
life. The support group meetings
boosted her confidence. She joined
a private factory, but had to give up
the job after six months as it was
taking a toll on her health.
Finally, she joined the network and
today she is working as a counselor
for the PACT programme (See page
10). She is economically independent
and is able to take care of her
children.
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Family Planning Counselors and DPOs oriented on MIS and IPCC
Guwahati: Since May 2005, boat
clinics have been reaching out to the
most underserved, vulnerable and
deprived sections of the population
on the islands in the Brahmaputra
river. The specially designed boats
carrying health providers and
medicines to the islands (called chars
or saporis) are the only link the
people have to medical and health
care.
The Centre for North East Studies
and Policy Research (C-NES),
supported by the government of
Assam under the National Rural
Health Mission (NRHM) implements
a preventive and promotive health
campaign through the boat clinics.
PFI supports the initiative and has
introduced the component of family
planning in the programme to
improve the reproductive health
status of the char and sapori
residents. The project titled
Mobilizing the Unreached: Using
Behaviour Change Communication
and Ensuring Quality Family
Planning Services through Boat
Clinics in Assam is being imple-
mented for a period of three years
from September 2009. It covers one
lakh people living on the islands
in Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji,
Sonitpur and North Lakhimpur
districts.
As part of the capacity building
support to the project, a four-day
training on Management Information
System (MIS) and Interpersonal
Communication and Counselling
(IPCC) was held on August 24-26,
2010 in Guwahati for the family
planning counselors and District
Programme Officers (DPOs) of the
project. This was the second training
for the project staff, the first being
an overview of reproductive
health and behaviour change
communication. The workshop
objective was to train the family
planning counselors and DPOs as
master trainers on the MIS format
and IPCC. These master trainers,
in turn, will train ASHAs and
community mobilizers in the project.
An IPCC training session in progress
Participatory training
The IPCC training began with an
overview and recap of the
communication process covered
during the previous training. The
sessions included: role of IPCC; rights
of clients; values, perceptions and
attitudes; and the IPCC skills of
observation and establishing rapport.
A participatory training methodology
was used with games, activities, role
plays and practice sessions. An
exercise was organized to sensitize the
participants about the differences in
the value system of individuals. The
topics of encouraging dialogue,
listening and questioning and the
importance of building rapport for a
successful counselling session were
demonstrated using a film.
Counselling techniques, such as the
GATHER, were explained with the
help of role plays and a film. The
training was interspersed with practice
sessions followed by feedback to help
the participants develop appropriate
inter-personal communication and
counselling skills.
An MIS format developed to cater to
the project needs, for ASHA and
family planning counselors, was
discussed and explained to the
participants. This was followed by
some exercises in filling up the MIS.
On the last day, a field visit was
organized for the family planning
counselors and the DPOs to the
Balsidhi sub-centre under Chaigaon
PHC to fill up the ASHA MIS format.
The completed forms were assessed
and feedback given.
A pre and post evaluation of the
training revealed that the participants’
knowledge on inter-personal
communication/counselling and MIS
had increased substantially. They also
reported feeling far more confident
about counselling clients and filling in
the MIS formats after the training.
Contd. from page 2
facilities, quality of care and
reproductive rights. The film uses an
entertainment format to reach out
and appeal to different audience
segments in the community. The
second film, Jan Aur Sankhya’s
underlying message is that population
stabilization is not merely about
numbers but has to be looked at in
the wider context of social
development.
Senior government officials, members
of civil society organizations, the
Family Planning Coalition, the
Coalition on Rights Based Pro-
gramming for Contraception, and
representatives from the donor
community and international agencies
actively participated in the conference
which was organized to mark the
World Population Day.
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Strengthening Village Health & Sanitation Committees in Haryana
Mewat district (Haryana): • Introduce
Strengthening Village Health and
participatory
Sanitation Committees (VHSCs) is
approaches for
an important strategy towards
community
community involvement under the
National Rural Health Mission.
organization and
mobilisation
NRHM lays substantial emphasis on
strengthening local level resources
and institutions for planning,
implementing and monitoring of
health programmes at the village level
to ensure transparency, equity and
inclusiveness in operation of health
delivery systems.
• Impart knowledge
and skills required
to mobilise and
organize the
community around
health issues
Project staff at the training programme
• Build the capacity of VHSCs
Over the last year, PFI’s project –
KIRAN (Knowledge based
Intervention for Reproductive
health Advocacy and actioN) being
implemented in 29 villages of Mewat
district, has focused on strengthening
and mainstreaming VHSCs. The
strategy helps the people understand
their health problems, prioritise them,
prepare plans and monitor the
progress. By doing this, the project
aims to bring about a qualitative
change in the maternal and child
health status of Mewat.
Hands-on experience
A three-day training programme was
organized from August 2-4, 2010,
for the KIRAN project staff.
Dr Mazhar Rashidi from Pratinidhi,
Lucknow, and Mr Satyavrat Vyas,
Programme Officer, PFI, facilitated
the programme. The objectives
were to:
• Provide hands-on experience to
participants through participatory
techniques/exercises
The first day focused on building staff
capacity by orienting them on
developmental issues, key bottlenecks
in development, the place of health
in the overall development paradigm
and the role of community and
different stakeholders in achieving
health for all. The participants learnt
to use ice-breakers, fishbowl exercise,
story-telling and role-play as a means
of sensitizing the community about
their role and responsibilities. At the
end of the day, the group deliberated
on possible solutions to the problems.
The objective was to help the group
to understand and appreciate the
importance of community action and
VHSCs in finding local solutions
for most of the health problems
prevailing in their area.
The second day focused on orienting
session to apply these methodologies.
The story of Paro kyon mari was
used along with mapping of health
services to identify key issues and
factors responsible for high infant and
maternal mortality. The participants
identified the steps and pre-requisites
for conducting successful VHSC
meetings.
Planning templates
On the morning of the final day, the
group was given a demonstration of
the tool for Village Health Plans,
which consisted of nine planning
templates. Each template was
explained and discussed through
group work. The second half of the
day was for fieldwork. Participants
were provided opportunities to
exercise the needs assessment tools
in real life situations. Finally, the team
met in the office and discussed the
plan for the next three months.
• Orient project staff on the
concept, relevance, structure,
statutory provisions and legal
status of VHSCs
participants on NRHM and the
role envisaged for VHSCs. The
structure, legal status, objectives,
financial provisions and the state
specific modalities of VHSCs were
discussed. The
participants also
learnt about parti-
cipatory methods:
resource mapping,
seasonality dia-
gram and chapati
diagrams for
Overall, the participants learnt that
the VHSCs are an effective forum to
seek solutions to their health
problems. They also learnt about
participatory methods of needs
assessment, methods for mobilising
and organizing the community
around issues of common interest:
maternal and child survival and
well-being. They learnt of different
tools for needs identification,
prioritization and planning for health.
identifying and The participants also had practical
prioritizing health experience of using these tools
problems. The and holding VHSC meetings and
group underwent felt competent to face challenges in
Participants identify steps to conduct successful VHSC meetings a mock VHSC conducting such meetings.
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Learning through exposure
Rai Bareilly and Bahraich
districts (Uttar Pradesh): Capacity
building of the project staff of different
partners is a key activity for an
effective roll out of PFI supported
projects. PFI regularly organizes
workshops, trainings and exposure
visits to strengthen their capacity.
PFI continues to align its programmes
with the National Rural Health
Mission (NRHM). For this, the
formation and strengthening of
Village Health and Sanitation
Committees (VHSCs) is seen as a
major intervention to improve
community planning, monitoring and
advocacy activities. The projects with
JK Laxmi Cement (Naya Savera) in
Sirohi district of Rajasthan, JK Tyres
(Parivartan) in Rajsamand district of
Rajasthan, and Tata Chemicals
(Swastha Aangan) in Badaun district
of Uttar Pradesh focus on activation
and strengthening of VHSCs. In turn,
VHSCs are expected to contribute
towards improved acceptance and
accessibility of reproductive and child
health/family planning services
through sharing of information,
advocacy and increased provider
accountability.
To learn from other project areas
where active VHSCs have been
formed, PFI organized a three-day
exposure visit for its partners from
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to
PATH’s Sure Start and Vistaar project
sites in Uttar Pradesh.
Sure Start focuses on household and
community action, complementing
other initiatives that focus on clinical
facilities and overall health systems.
Two major objectives of the project
are:
• Establishing community planning,
monitoring and advocacy activities
• Strengthening linkages between
public health system, private sector
and community consortia
Strengthening VHSCs, formation
and capacity building of mothers’
groups and bringing together
pregnant and lactating mothers for
health awareness are the project’s
core activities.
The visit of the 12- member team was
facilitated by Pratinidhi, a Lucknow
based NGO, which provides technical
and facilitative support to Sure Start
partners in Uttar Pradesh.
Owning responsibility
On the first day, Mr Vikrant Kumar
from PATH presented an overview of
Sure Start. He focused on the key
strategy – strengthening Village
Health and Sanitation Committees
and the formation and empowerment
of mothers’ groups. He also shared
the management information system
for monitoring the processes and
outcomes of the VHSC facilitation
programme.
Participants were then taken to village
Maduri in Lalganj block of Rai Bareilly
district. A meeting of the VHSC of
Maduri was called. The team observed
how the VHSC owned the
responsibility for the village health and
sanitation programmes. It saw the key
role of ASHAs in calling the meetings,
informing the members of the
meetings and sensitizing the VHSC
members using stories, case studies,
flip books, charts and posters on
health issues. The role of PATH in
handholding the ASHAs in the entire
process was also highlighted. The
VHSC members explained to the
visitors how they prioritized the
various development and health
problems faced by their village. The
team also learnt about the VHSC’s
role in managing the ambulance
service.
On the second day of the visit, the
team was taken to village Haiderpur,
Kaiserganj Jarwal block in Bahraich
district. They went to the Gram
Panchayat Bhavan where a VHSC
meeting was going on. This meeting
was facilitated by Mr Prabhu, a VHSC
member. Mr Prabhu explained the
basic concept of the Mothers’ Group
and the livelihood programme. The
village Pradhan, Mr Ali Haider,
elaborated the initiatives taken by the
A VHSC in action in Village Haiderpur
VHSC. He shared that 22 VHSC
meetings had been conducted in the
last two years and the committee has
been active since September 2007.
The team discussed teething
problems like lack of interest of
people, lack of resource materials,
personal conflicts among members
and the lack of clarity on use of untied
funds. Mr Haider said that through
persistence and with support from
PATH and Partinidhi, they were able
to overcome these issues.
Day three saw sessions organized at
the PFI office in Lucknow. Parti-
cipants from the three projects were
asked to prepare an action plan for
their respective projects based on
their learnings from these visits.
The major learning points for the
team during the exposure visit were:
• Conducting regular trainings and
continuous handholding of VHSCs
and ASHAs is crucial
• Developing and distributing IEC
materials and other tools help
the VHSCs in mobilizing the
community
• Conducting regular meetings with
VHSC is essential for follow up and
monitoring of village health plans
• Ensuring quality of home visits by
ASHA is vital
• Advocating with influential people
at the community level to promote
behaviour change
• Making an Annual Plan of Action
and following it rigorously
• Importance of good MIS to
monitor progress and take
corrective action.
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Tribals in Jharkhand: Transportation and misconceptions
are major issues in accessing health care
West Singhbhum district
(Jharkhand): A midline survey,
carried out to assess the impact of
the project Improving Reproductive
and Child Health Status of the
Tribals in Noamundi Block, has
revealed that transportation remains
a big inhibiting factor for the people
to access health services. Moreover,
myths and misconceptions related to
immunization of children and family
planning methods are still prevalent
in the community. However, the
audio-visual shows were proving
effective in reaching out to women
with messages on the importance of
child immunization and ANC care.
Also on the positive side is that the
Saahiyas (ASHAs in NRHM parlance)
have been performing their functions
and duties quite effectively and have
a good clarity on their role and
responsibilities. The IEC materials
available with the implementing
organization, Krishi Gram Vikas
Kendra (KGVK, Usha Martin Group),
Ranchi, were found to be useful and
adequate.
The project covers a population of
30,000 in 34 villages of Noamundi
block. It works at ensuring
improvements in reproductive and
sexual health status, thereby also
improving the acceptance of family
planning methods among the
underserved tribal population. It is
being implemented in association
with PFI.
After discussion with KGVK, the
following suggestions emerged:
• Existing myths and misconceptions
on child immunization and family
planning methods, could be
discussed with Saahiyas in the
monthly meetings and a strategy
designed to counter them within
the community.
• As the distance to the PHC is a
major issue, KGVK would advocate
with government agencies for
providing means of transport,
especially in the interior villages.
• KGVK has proposed to take over
the charge of PHC Bada Jamda.
The objectives of the project are to
generate awareness among eligible
couples (women in the age group of
15-49 years) on family planning/
reproductive and child health issues
and motivate them to accept modern
contraceptives. For this, the project
promotes a basket of choice through
social marketing for child spacing and
improving access to both male and
female sterilizations.
The project also focuses on the
need to create community-based
mechanisms and linkages for
improved health services. Referrals
for maternal and child care, as well
as building capacities of adolescents
in reproductive health issues and
positive health seeking behaviour,
are important components of the
project.
Happy again
Lucknow: Lakshman (name changed) was brought to the
Umang Community Care Centre (CCC) by an outreach
worker. He was very ill, depressed and disturbed. The
warmth and friendly attitude of the counselor helped him
to open up. He told the counselor that he had a wife and a
son. He had got a job in a diamond factory in Surat and
had moved there alone. After some time, he started falling
ill frequently. As he was unable to continue with his job, he
returned home. On a doctor’s advice, he got tested for HIV
and discovered he was infected. The news shattered him
and he was filled with regret and remorse.
After five days stay at the Umang CCC, he went back home
to start a new life. The counselor advised HIV testing for
other members of his family. His wife and son were found
to be HIV positive too. The news affected his health further
and his CD4 count decreased to 195 and he lost a lot of
weight. He returned to Umang CCC to seek treatment and
counselling. He started ARV treatment, was counseled on
positive living and met other people living a normal life
with HIV.
Today Lakshman has established an HIV positive support group
of 55 members in Balrampur. He is also working as an
agricultural worker and living a happy life with his family.
Back on track
Imphal district (Manipur): Beema Laisram (name
changed) is a member of the district level network of
PLHIV. Beema is the sole earning member and supports
her four children.
“Last year 12 of us got together as a group and had several
discussions to start some small business to support
ourselves. But we did not have any capital or training,”
she says.
“The support by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in
the form of sewing and knitting machines along with
raw materials has been like a wish come true,” she adds.
Today the group has orders for stitching school uniforms.
“Each member now makes Rs 50 per day. We do not
take all the money we earn, 20 per cent of it is deposited
in the pool fund to help in times of emergency,” she says.
Beema has put two of her children back to school. “I still
have two more kids to be admitted in school, but it will
take some more time,” she says. Beema and her peers
have named their support group, Eikhoi Hingminashi
(Lets Live Together) and aim to involve and empower
other women living with HIV.
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1.9 Page 9 |
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The march for youth
Patna: PFI actively participated in
the UN Millennium Campaign’s
Stand Up and Take Action events
organized in Bihar. The events held
at the district and state levels included
rallies, signature campaigns, a public
hearing and exhibitions, focused on
issues related to the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs):
poverty, education, health, gender,
climate change, youth, unemploy-
ment and migration.
On September 18, 2010, over 300
persons and about a hundred school
children enthusiastically took part in
the event titled Halla Bol Youth
March. They marched from Patna
University to Golghar, an important
monument, shouting slogans,
spreading awareness about the
millennium goals and urging the
government to pay special attention
to issues related to youth. The
marchers demanded the formulation
of a state youth policy, a state youth
commission and a separate youth
ministry.
They also demanded that priority be
given to adolescent health, youth
resource and counselling centres and
youth friendly health service centres.
This would lead to a reduction in the
total fertility rate (TFR), bring down
maternal and child deaths, and put
an end to child marriage.
The Jaago Yuva Abhiyan (Wake Up
Youth Campaign), Bihar and its
alliance had jointly organized the six
km long march from Patna University
to Golghar. At the monument they
put up banners, posters, big sign-
boards and distributed flyers to the
public and the media.
Mr Vikash Vishal, Convenor, Jaago
Yuva Abhiyan, Bihar, and Mr Sanjay
Singh of PFI addressed the gathering.
The march was prominently covered
by the print and electronic media.
The events were a precursor to the
UN Summit on September 20-22,
2010, organized to take stock of the
progress towards the MDGs.
At the global level, the UN Summit
concluded with the adoption of a
global action plan to achieve the eight
anti-poverty goals by their 2015
target date and the announcement of
major new commitments for women’s
and children’s health and other
initiatives against poverty, hunger and
disease.
The outcome document of the three-
day summit – Keeping the Promise:
United to Achieve the Millennium
Development Goals – reaffirms
world leaders’ commitment to the
MDGs and sets out a concrete action
agenda for achieving them by 2015.
Based on examples of success and
lessons learnt over the last ten years,
the document spells out specific steps
to be taken by all stakeholders to
accelerate progress on each of the
eight goals. It also affirms that, despite
setbacks due to economic and
financial crisis, remarkable progress
has been made on fighting poverty,
increasing school enrolment and
improving health in many countries,
and the goals remain achievable.
In a major push to accelerate the
progress on women’s and children’s
health, a number of Heads of State
and government from developed and
developing countries, along with
the private sector, foundations,
international organizations, civil
society and research organizations,
pledged over $40 billion in resources
over the next five years. In addition,
a number of other significant
commitments on each of the eight
goals were made by governments,
international organizations and
partners as well as by business
representatives.
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1.10 Page 10 |
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PACT
Promoting Access to Care and Treatment (PACT) programme aims to improve the survival and quality
of life of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV). It complements the national antiretroviral roll out by the
National AIDS Control Organization by providing care and support services through Community Care
Centres (CCC) and District Level Networks (DLN) of PLHIV in 15 states of India. PFI implements the
programme which is funded by The Global Fund.
Sensitization meetings, organized by the DLNs provide a forum for discussion on issues of access and
utilization of services, and also for sharing instances of stigma and discrimination.
Sensitizing jail inmates
Mathura: The Mathura Positive
People’s Welfare Society, a DLN of
PLHIV in Uttar Pradesh, organized a
sensitization programme for inmates
of the district jail on November 13,
2010. The need for this sensitization
meeting had arisen after two inmates
were recently detected with HIV
following failing health.
The meeting was attended by 120
inmates along with the Jail
Superintendent, Mr Rajendra Kumar,
the Jailor, Mr P K Kashya, and the
Senior Consultant of Jail Hospital,
Dr Shambhu Nath. Representatives
from the Mathura DLN, Mr Ajay
Kumar Singh and Mr Rajeev Sharma,
spoke to the inmates on the modes
of HIV transmission, common myths
and misconceptions, voluntary HIV
testing and treatment, care and
support services. The Integrated
Counselling and Testing Centre
(ICTC) counselor and laboratory
technician counseled inmates on the
importance of voluntary HIV testing.
After the meeting, 52 inmates
voluntarily came forward to get
themselves tested for HIV and
A sensitization meeting in progress
provided their blood samples. Two
samples were found HIV positive.
Mathura DLN has requested the jail
administration to provide access to
care, support and treatment services
to those inmates who were found HIV
positive and get them registered at
the ART centre in Agra.
In his closing remarks the Jail
Superintendent, Mr Rajendra Kumar,
said, “The sensitization meeting
has helped in creating awareness
on HIV/AIDS among the jail
inmates and we request the Mathura
DLN to organize such meetings
in future.”
World AIDS Day observed
Kiphire district (Nagaland):
The Kiphire Network of People Living
with HIV/AIDS (KNP+) organized the
World AIDS Day on December 1,
2010, at the Hopongkyu Memorial
Hall on the theme Universal Access
and Human Rights. Two hundred
participants who attended the
gathering included members of the
DLN, functionaries of health
department and local NGOs.
10
Dr I Sungit Jamir, Chief Medical
Officer, Civil Hospital Kiphire, called
upon the youth to play an important
role in fighting HIV/AIDS. He said
the DLN and its members across the
district could play a significant role in
motivating community members in
voluntary HIV testing and help PLHIV
in accessing treatment services. “We
should share our love with the people
living with HIV/AIDS and strengthen
our commitment to fight the disease
and not the person,” he added.
Mr Issac, Programme Officer, District
AIDS Prevention Coordination Unit,
said, “On the occasion of World AIDS
Day our focus should be to bridge the
gap on knowledge and practice for
reducing HIV transmission.” The
KNP+ President, Mr Erothe, shared
his experiences of working with
PLHIV and pointed out that such
groups could help in promoting
access to care and support services
across the district.
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Strengthening public health – translating ideas into action
Dehradun: PFI had an active
presence at the XIII Annual
Conference of the Indian Association
of Preventive and Social Medicine
(Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand
Chapter). The conference that took
place on October 30-31, 2010, was
built around the theme Strengthening
Public Health – translating ideas into
action. It was organized by the
Department of Community Medicine
of the Himalayan Institute of Medical
Sciences, HIHT University, Dehradun.
PFI conducted the scientific session
on Family Planning and Quality of
Care. Representatives from PFI’s
technical team made presentations on
different aspects of the project
A Model Initiative to Ensure Quality
Family Planning Services in
Uttarakhand – a PFI-HIHT colla-
boration. The project endeavours
to complement and supplement
government health programmes by
reinforcing the skills of government
service providers on family planning.
HIHT’s centres provide family
planning services as part of the
initiative.
Presentations by PFI and HIHT
focused on the results of the baseline
assessment done for the project;
described a specially designed mobile
based MIS software that streamlines
data from the field and shared key
findings of the Rapid Assessment
done to assess quality of care brought
in by the facilities.
The Rapid Assessment had shown
that though there was an
improvement in QoC parameters,
there is a need to focus on counselling
for spacing methods and increasing
the basket of choice. These issues are
now being given attention in the
project.
The conference included six plenary
sessions and 12 scientific sessions
covering important issues related
to public health like anemia,
Ms Parul Sharma from PFI makes a
presentation
micronutrient supplementation,
reproductive health and family
planning, public private partnership in
the health sector, communicable and
non-communicable diseases. There
were about 175 participants from
organizations spanning various states.
Participant organizations included
Council of Medical Research, New
Delhi; NIHFW, New Delhi; UNICEF,
Lucknow; Family Health International
and USAID, New Delhi; A2Z-USAID,
New Delhi; American Heart
Association, USA and representatives
from medical colleges of Uttar Pradesh
and Uttarakhand.
We welcome...
Mr Johney Reberio, Manager, Administration
Mr Reberio has over 12 years experience in general administration, procurement, legal and liaison matters.
He has worked with corporate and development sector organizations including Bayer Group, USAID/UHRC, Apollo Group and
Gateway Distripark. He is a post graduate in business management from the All India Management Association and has a degree
in Law.
Mr Sunil Kumar, Grants Manager, Global Fund (HIV/AIDS) project
Mr Kumar has over 15 years of experience in grants management, finance and accounts operations, audit and programme
budgeting in both the development and commercial sectors. He has worked with Water Aid and DSC Limited. He is a Chartered
Accountant from ICAI and has done his B.Com from Delhi University.
Ms Varsha Sharma, Communication and Advocacy Manager,
USAID supported project, Health of the Urban Poor
Ms Sharma has more than 15 years of experience in communication, media, advocacy and developmental projects. She has been
associated with various reputed institutions including All India Radio, Doordarshan, UNICEF, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
and the Naturopathy Department of AYUSH (GoI). Before joining PFI, she was working with Parivar Seva Sanstha where she
was associated with Advocating Reproductive Choices, primarily in the field of sexual and reproductive health.
Ms Nidhi Vats, Programme Associate, Programme Development
Ms Vats is a post graduate in Health and Hospital Management with specialization in Public Health from IHMR, Jaipur. She has
also done post graduation in Developmental Therapy from the School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Delhi University. She has
worked with Juneja Physiotherapy Centre, National Association for the Blind and Action for Ability, Development and Inclusion.
Ms Richi Dhillon, Administrative Executive, USAID supported project, Health of the Urban Poor
Ms Dhillon is a graduate in Economics from Punjab University, Chandigarh and has completed her MBA in Human Resource
from Amity University, Noida.
We bid farewell to
Ms Chandni Malik, who worked with the Advocacy Division as Programme Officer, has joined ICRW as Communications Manager
(Asia Regional Office).
Ms Mohini Kak, who worked in the Scaling Up project as Senior Project Manager, has joined the Ministry of Women and Child Development
as Nutrition and Health Expert.
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PFI welcomes Poonam Muttreja and
bids farewell to A R Nanda
New Delhi: PFI bid farewell to its Executive Director,
Mr A R Nanda, and welcomed Ms Poonam Muttreja as
the new Executive Director at a special ceremony on
September 28, 2010. The event was attended by
distinguished guests and friends of PFI representing the
Government of India, representatives from the social
sector, PFI Governing Board and Advisory Council
members and the staff of the PFI.
Mr Hari Shankar Singhania, Chairman of PFI, shared with
guests that Mr Nanda’s eight years with the organization
has been a period of renaissance. Mr Nanda helped PFI
expand its scope of work from population stabilization
and maternal and child health to include related issues
likes HIV/AIDS and gender. PFI’s technical capacities
increased to include knowledge of urban health and the
skill of scaling up management. Mr Nanda’s contribution
towards advocacy and urban health has also been
noteworthy. PFI wishes him the very best for the future.
Mr Singhania welcomed Ms Poonam Muttreja as the new
Executive Director. She brings to the organization over
30 years of rich experience in the socio-development
sector. Prior to joining PFI, she was with the MacArthur
Foundation as its Country Director for India. Ms Muttreja
has also worked with the United Nations Development
Programme as Advisor to the Country Representative.
She has been Visiting Professor at Earlham College,
Richmond, Indiana, and New Hampshire College,
Amherst, USA. She is the Founder Director of Ashoka
Foundation, Dastkar and SRUTI (Society for Rural, Urban
and Tribal Initiatives). Ms Muttreja is associated with several
national and international organizations in the capacity
of member of their Boards and Advisory Councils. She
has done her Masters in Public Administration from
Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and
has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University
of Delhi.
Mr B G Verghese and Mr J C Pant, Members of the
Governing Board of PFI, along with Dr Saroj Pachauri,
Member, Advisory Council and Mr Lester Coutinho,
Packard Foundation, spoke about their association with
Mr Nanda during his tenure at PFI and welcomed
Ms Muttreja, as an equally proficient, qualified and
experienced professional.
Prior to this, the PFI staff also bid farewell to Mr Nanda at
the India International Centre by presenting him with a
memento and a photo album – a collection of visual
memories of Mr Nanda’s tenure at PFI.
Editorial Guidance
Poonam Muttreja
Editor
Sona Sharma
Editorial Assistance
Jolly Jose
12
Editorial Committee
Arundhati Mishra
Lalitendu Jagatdeb
Sharmila G. Neogi
Editorial Consultant
Unnati Features
Published by
Population Foundation of India
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Tel: 91-11-43894100
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