Focus 2002 January - March English :: PFI Publication :: KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT CENTRE PORTAL, POPULATION FOUNDATION OF INDIA

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Focus 2002 January - March English

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Focus 2002 January - March English

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Focus

POPULATION ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT

Volume XVI No. 1

January-March 2002

COMMUNITY RADIO PROGRAMME - UJALA :

Dramas in Hindi on Health and Social Issues

BROADCAST THROUGH VIVIDH BHARTI, ALL INDIA RADIO, INDORE

PopuLation Foundation of

India started Community

Radio Programme at Indore

guration of the Community Radio

Programme was done on pt February

2002 at Indore. Dr K Sri nivasan, Ex-

tive of the Foundation for Launching

this programme at Indore. Smt.·

ShaLini Moghe, and Mrs Usha

through ALLIn-

AgrawaL from

dia Radio, Vividh

Bharatiya Gram-

Bharti at 101.6

mega her.t1. on

een MahiLa Sangh

(BGMS) were aLso

every Sunday,

present. aLong-

from 6.30 p.m.

with officiaLs from

to 7.00 p.m. The

ALL India Radio

UjaLa prog-

and Satprakashan

ramme, a series

Sanchar Kendra.

of 52 episodes,

The first drama

is Listened in

PARIVARTAN was

Indore, Dewas,

broadcast thro-

Dhar and Ujjain.

ugh ALLIndia Ra-

The UjaLa prog-

dio on 3'd Febru-

ramme aims to

ary 2002.

inform, educate Launching ceremony of the "Ujala" programme at Indore. Lighting of the candle by Dr K Srinivasan,

and create awar- Executive Director, Population Foundation of India.

Po puLa ti 0 n

eness among the target community ecutive Director, PopuLation Founda-

Foundation

on heaLth and sociaL deveLopment tion of India inaugurated the Com- India took the initiative of Launching

issues through Hindi radio dramas, munity Radio Programme. The others the Community Radio Programme at

which have been written by eminent present were the MLAs of Indore and Indore with the association of

writers from Indore. The formaL inau- Dewas, who appreciated the initia-

On Other Pages

• Mobile Health Clinic for Delhi Slums

• Launching of the Mobile Van in Dewas

• TRDC for NGOs involved in RCH Care in Delhi Slums

• RTRDCs in States: Kamataka, Orissa and M.P.

• Setting up of RTRDCs of NGOs in Other States

• Experience Sharing Meeting of RTRDCs at PFI

• Training Programmes on Mgmt. & BCe

• District Level Workshops in Maharashtra

• ImprOVingAvailability & Quality of RCH Services in Raj. 9

• District Workshops in Garhwal, Uttaranchal

• New Joinings & Departures

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WOMEN'S EMPOWERMENT

THROUGH SHGS

Self-Help Groups of Women (SHGs) are

becoming increasingly popular in the rural areas

in most parts of the country as organization of

groups of women from marginalised sections of

the society towards economic empowerment.

Launching of income generating activities for

women with the help of loans given by the

banks forms the core activity of such groups.

The re-payment of loans from banks and

NABARD taken by them is close to 99%

compared to high default rates prevalent in the

re-payment of loans taken by rather affluent

people, politicians and industrialists from

nationalized banks. Women seem to have a

higher sense of moral responsibility in re-

payment of loans. The women constituting such

groups are thus bound by common interest and

are often faced with multiple problems relating

to reproductive and child health. Empowering

these women with the knowledge of RCH can

go a long way in improving the basic health

conditions in the marginalised sections of the

society.

In the strengthening of the Self-Help

Groups and empowering them with knowledge

on RCH, NGOs can play a major role.

Volunteers can be selected from NGOs of

considerable social standing and can be

sensitized on the basic concepts of RCH. The

volunteers can be selected on the basis of his/

her qualifications, social orientation, articulation

and motivation, etc. They can be trained

intensively in groups with the help of external

agencies. Refresher training can also be held

from time to time to upgrade the knowledge and

skills.

These volunteers can playa major role in

the creation of awareness on Reproductive

Health of women, both among women in the

Self-Help Groups and other segments such as

women panchayat members, mahila mandals,

etc. They can also be motivated to maintain

basic records related to number of pregnant

women, number of contraceptives distributed,

immunization of children, RTI/STD cases etc.

They can also act as depot holders for

contraceptives as well as basic health supplies.

Since increase in knowledge of members

of the SHGs has also been linked to skill

building and better income generation,

members of the SHGs can continue to work for

their own health needs as well as that of village

community.

It is expected that by strengthening and

empowering women in the SHGs with

knowledge on RCH, and with the NGO

volunteers' initiatives to address the

reproductive and child health needs of the

community, many of the primary health care

needs of the women can be met. SHGs offer a

window of opportunity by improving the

reproductive and child health of the population

~~.9... _ in the marginalised sections of the society.

(Dr. K '§inivasan)

Strengthening of

RCH Services in Delhi Slums

Mobile HeaLth Clinic

To provide effective curative,

promotive and preventive

health care services; and also to

improve reproductive and child health

status of women living in selected

slums of Delhi, the Foundation in col-

laboration with Society for the Promo-

tion of Youth & Masses (SPYM) and

PRAYATN implemented a project on

"Reproductive & Child Health Promo-

free referral services to the patients

referred to them by PFI doctors during

their visits to slum areas.

The mobile van is visiting the

field areas regularly and is well received

in the community. Around 80-100

patients per day are getting the

services through mobile van with a

large percentage of women and

children. The services include

tion in selected slums of Delhi through

Mobile Health Services and Self-Help

Groups (SHGs)".

The mobile van provides services

to about 60,000 population in six slum

clusters. Through SPYM, the van with

the medical doctor and medicines, is

reaching to 30,000 population in slum

areas of Rangpuri Pahari near Vasant

Kunj and B P Singh Camp near

Tughlakabad. Through PRAYATNi,t is

covering 30,000 population in Sanjay

Colony and Manav Kalyan Camp near

Okhla. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital provides

identification and treatment of general

health problems, RTI cases, ANC/PNC

check-ups to women during pregnancy

and after delivery, counseling to

contraceptive users and children.

Group meetings with women,

adolescents, community leaders and

families are organised to provide

information on safe motherhood,

family planning, immunisation, HIV/

AIDS, balanced diet, etc. Formation of

Self Help Groups is also an important

component of the project.

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TOTAL INTEGRATED PACKAGE

FOR DEWAS DISTRICT OF MADHYA PRADESH

LAUNCHING OF THE MOBILE VAN IN DEWAS

In order to strengthen the Re-

productive and Child Health

Services in Dewas, where the

Foundation earlier launched a project

with Ranbaxy Community Health Care

Society, (RCHS) Dewas, on "Total In-

tegrated Package for Dewas District",

recently the Foundation has launched

another mobile van and the formal

"flag off" function was held on

l't February, 2002 at Ranbaxy Plant,

Dewas. The District Collector Mr Ashok

Barnwal was the Chief Guest. Dr (Mrs)

Manorama Choudhary, Chief Medical

and Health Officer, Dewas, Ms Alka

Dr K Srinivasan, Executive Director, PFI addressing during the formal Inauguration of the Mobile

Van at Dewas. Others seen from left are· Mr Ashok Barnwal, District Collector, Dewas, Dr (Mrs)

Manorama Choudhary, Chief Medical and Health Officer, Dewas, Mr P S Bindra, Sr. Vice President,

Global Manufacturing, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. and PRO of Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd.

Sirohi, Principal Secretary, Health &

Family Welfare, Govt. of M.P. and Mr.

D C Sagar, S.P. Dewas, were also

present.

and Dr (Mrs) Manorama Choudhary,

Chief Medical and Health Officer,

Dewas also addressed the participants.

Earlier, the baseline survey was

While Mr P S Bindra, Sr. Vice

conducted to assess the situation in

President, Global Manufacturing,

the project area before the initiation

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd. welcomed

the participants, Dr K Srinivasan, Ex-

of the project. The creation of bench-

ecutive Director, PFI gave a brief in- mark data helped in forming the in-

terventions of the project to measure

troduction about the project. Mr R

Srinivasan, Chair-

the impact of the

man, RCHS ad-

THE MEAN AGE AT

programme in the

dressed the partici-

COHABITATION AMONG

coming years.

pants regarding the

RURAL WOMEN IS FOUND

A total of 511

activities of RCHS. TO BE 15 YEARS AND FOR households were

age in Dewas, especially among rural

women. The mean age at cohabitation

among rural women is found to be 15

years and for the urban women, it is

about 19 years. In rural areas, about

one-fifth of pregnant women receive

the minimum required ANCcheck-ups.

Institutional delivery is quite preva-

lent in Dewas block as about 70 per

cent of the deliveries occur in hospi-

tals. Among home deliveries, more

than 60 per cent are attended by

trained persons. Though 86 per cent

women knew at least one modern

family planning method, more than 62

Ms Alka Sirohi,

THE URBAN WOMEN, IT IS actually completed per cent of the current users have un-

Principal Secretary,

ABOUT 19 YEARS.

with 321 and 190 dergone female sterilisation and about

Health & Family

as rural and urban 21 per cent are using oral pills. Aware-

Welfare, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh for- setti ngs. Overall sex ratio is found to ness about RTIjSTD and HIVjAIDs

mally inaugurated the function and be 962 which is little higher than the varied significantly between urban-

gave the inaugural Address. Dewas Dewas district figure of 936 (RCH- rural set ups.

District Collector Mr Ashok Barnwal 1998). Marriage occurs at a very low

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Training & Resource Development Center (TRDC) at PFI

Evaluation Study:

To sensitize and deveLop a cadre

of trained workers who wouLd

have working knowLedge and

skills on issues reLated to the deveL-

opment, impLementation and moni-

toring of RCH issues, the Foundation

set up the Training & Resource DeveL-

opment Centre (TRDC) to train the

middLe LeveLpersonneL of NGOs work-

ing in DeLhi sLums.

The project started in January

1999 with the financiaL support of

Ministry of HeaLth and FamiLy WeLfare

and successfuLLy compLeted in

December 2001. The Foundation has

successfully trained 640 middLe and

grassroots LeveL personneL in 29

batches from 305 NGOs. During the 5

days course, apart from the basic RCH

issues such as anatomy and

physioLogy of Reproduction, Safe

Motherhood, Child Care, PLanned

Parenthood, RTI/STD/HIV / AI DS,

emphasis was aLso given on training

techniques,

quaLity of care,

monitoring and evaLuation, IEC and

counseLing techniques, project

formuLation

and financiaL

management. A moduLe on these

issues was prepared and given to the

participants for their reference from

time to time. The medium of teaching

was Hindi and the techniques foLLow-

ed in the class

room sessions

were Lectures,

group discussions,

roLe pLays and

presentation of

case studies. FieLd

work was an

important compo-

nent of the five

days training

Pre and post evaLuation

questionnaire was prepared to assess

the participants' knowLedge and

understanding regarding different

aspects of RCH programmes. On the

other hand, participants were asked

to evaLuate each speaker at the end

of the session. A separate

questionnaire was deveLoped for the

same. Mid-term evaLuation of the

TRDCwas done by an NGO - ChiLd in

Need Institute, CaLcutta and

appreciated the efforts of the

Foundation in conducting the

training programmes.

programme.

Having conducted a number of

During the three years time, the programmes for DeLhi based NGOs,

Foundation couLd aLso manage to the Foundation reaLised the need of

conduct three Refresher Courses with training trainers in other States as

the purpose to

understand the

retention LeveLof

participants after

the gap of one

-----~- :.":---"s--;'-.."---~-.~.=-J-."-~_~-=-<---=--

5S~== •

year training

received from the

Foundation.

Around

participants

attended

the

Refresher Course.

Participants of the training programme collecting information in

the field

The Founda-tion had aLso

initiated training courses on the issue

of Behaviour Change Communication

(BCC) on the speciaL request of

participants who attended our reguLar

5 days training on RCHissues. Around

160 candidates attended these

weLL. To make training a constant

feature, the Foundation has

endeavoured to estabLish RegionaL

Training and Resource DeveLopment

Centres (RTRDCs) in different States

by funding and extending its

technicaL expertise to LocaLNGOs.

•

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Regional Training & Resource

Development Centers (RTRDCs) in Progress

Training of NGOs in Karnataka, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh

M yrada, a Non-Government

Organisation in Karnataka,

has been conducting

training programmes through three

nodaL centres, HoLLaLkere in

Chitradurga district, Kamasamudram

in KoLar district and Huthur in

Chamrajanagar district. These nodaL

centres are covering the whoLe of

Karnataka State.

NationaL Institute of AppLied

Human Research and DeveLopment

(NIAHRD), Cuttack, Orissa, is activeLy

conducting training programmes

under the RTRDC. There are a Large

number of NGOs in Cuttack city

aLone, working in 200 odd sLum

pockets among the most underserved

areas. TiLLnow, NIAHRD has trained

300 personneL from 140 NGOs.

NIAHRD aLso organised a one- Sangh (BGMS) has an extensive

day Workshop of Senior persons of training experience.

It has

NGOs who sponsored their heaLth successfuLLy set up the RTRDC and

workers

for

deveLoped aRCH

attending

the

THE IDEA IS TO

manuaL contain-

training progra-

DISSEMINATE THE

ing 10 moduLes

mmes in order to

IMPORTANCE OF

deaLing separateLy

get the feedback

BALANCE DIET, PLANNED

with different

on how success-

PARENTHOOD,

fully the NGO

staff have been

abLe to use their

skilLs in thei r fieLd

COMMUNICATION SKILLS,

HOME REMEDIES, PLA

TECHNIQUES ETC.

The initiaL

effort was to

inform, orient and

work, gained by

DURING THE TRAINING

train small NGOs

attending

the

PROGRAMMES

who are working

training progra-

at the grassroot

mmes, and aLso to seek their opinion

LeveL in Madhya

on the aspect of modifications in the Pradesh, but do not have sufficient

contents, if required.

tech-nicaL knowLedge and support for

effective management of RCH

programmes. NGOs working in 100

odd sLum/ruraL pockets among the

most under-served areas in Madhya

Pradesh are invited for the training

programmes. There are pLans not onLy

to provide training to the middLe-

LeveL managers and the heaLth

workers of NGOs covering the whoLe

district but aLso to the adjacent

districts.

Participants of the BGMS's Training Programme at Indore interacting with the community during

their field visit.

Apart from providing training to

NGOs, BGMS provides training to

CBOs. During the training

programme, various group exercises

are being conducted to eLicit their

roLes and responsibilities

Panchayati Raj members and to

disseminate the importance of

1.6 Page 6

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balance diet, planned parenthood,

communication

skills, home

remedies, PLA tech niques etc. Field

work is an integral part of the

training programme. Participants are

told to visit a few families and

identify target groups like eligible

couples etc.; find the problems

existing in the community in relation

to RCH; conduct PLA exercises and

deliver 10 minutes talk to the target

groups on issues emerged during the

visit.

•

Capacity Building of NGOs in Hardwar, Kanpur,

Palna, Udaipur and Jharkhand

SETIING UP OF REGIONAL TRAINING & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT CENTERS (RTRDCS)

Based on the success achieved by running a

Training and Resource Development Centre

(TRDC)at the PFI and training 640 middle and

grassroot level personnel from 305 NGOsworking in the

areas of RCH, MCH, family planning, family life

education, adolescent health etc. among the slum and

low income group population in Delhi and in adjacent

districts of Delhi, the Foundation was encouraged to

set-up Regional Training and Resource Development

Centres in other States. The Foundation has established

RTRDCsat Kanpur with St. Catherine's Hospital; at Patna

with ADITHI; at Jharkhand with Alternative for India

Development; at Udaipur with Population Research

Centre and at Hardwar with Gayatri Tirth, Shantikunj.

The main objective of these RTRDCsis the capacity

building of small NGOsthrough a cadre of master trainers

who would impart training on planning, goal-setting,

resource mobilisation, implementation of Reproductive

and Child Health programmes. The master trainers will

be trained by the faculty of the Foundation, who in

turn, would train the NGOpersonnel with the guidance

of the Foundation. The project is for a period of three

years.

The target group is a large number of NGOsworking

in slum/rural pockets among the under-served areas.

Initially these NGOswould be taken up in batches for

the training programmes. Once the coverage is complete,

the programme would extend to interior rural areas of

the State. This will be a 6 days training programme, five

days in class room sitting and one day for field

orientation. Two participants from each NGO will be

invited including their middle level managers and their

health workers.

The methodology of the training would be lecture

discussions, group work, exercises on various topics, role

plays, demonstration, simulations and presentation of

case studies.

Training of Master Trainers is being provided by

the PFI faculty. In the States of Kanpur, Jharkhand and

Udaipur, the training oftrainers have already been done.

In Patna, it is in progress.

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Experience Sharing Meeting of RTRDCs

at the Foundation

To have a synergy and unifor-

mity among all the imple-

menting agencies of RTRDCs

and to share their experiences, a

two-day Workshop was held at the

Foundation during 22-23rd January

2002. The main objective of this

Workshop, apart from sharing their

experiences, was to review the

achievements made by the NGOs,

highlight constraints and to evolve

better strategies for sustai nability of

the programmes. Two participants

from seven NGOsfrom different parts

of the country, where the RTRDCs

have been established, participated

in the Workshop.

• National Institute of Applied

Human Research & Development

(NIAHRD), Cuttack

aspect of the programme and also on

the aspect of networking among

NGOs. An opportunity was given to

the representatives of each NGO to

make presentations and share their

experiences. The NGOs who have

already estabished the RTRDC, made

presentations on their training

strategy and futu re pla ns, fi ndi ngs of

the mid-term evaluation and impact

of the training programmes on the

health workers when they actually

perform their jobs in the field. Their

evaluation showed good increase in

knowledge and skills of trainees and

their increased skill to conduct

further training. The NGOs who are

establishing the RTRDCs, made their

presentations on problems faced in

module preparation and planning of

the implementing strategies. Sugg-

estions were given to them by PFI

faculty as well as by the established

RTRDCs.The discussion was followed

by an orientation programme for

participants on importance of

Behavioural Change Communication

and development of evaluation

formats and the need to standardize

the same by the expertise from the

Foundation. The last Session was

specifically

focussed

sustainability of the programme both

for the RTRDCand the NGOs trained

by them, strengthening

and

empowering the community mainly

in the form of SHGs involvement in

RCH programme, etc.

The evaluation showed good

increase in knowledge and skills of

trainees and their increased skill to

conduct further trainings.

• Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh

(BGMS), Indore

• Alternative for India Development

(AID), Jamshedpur

• St. Catherine's Hospital (SCH),

Kanpur

• Population Research Centre (PRC),

Udaipur

While addressing the Workshop

Dr K Srinivasan, Executive Director,

PFI informed the participants about

genesis of RTRDCs.He also asked the

NGOs to focus on the sustainability

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TRAINING PROGRAMMES ON

MANAGEMENT-CUM-BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE

COMMUNICATION

Reproductive and Child Health is an ambi-

tious programme launched in the devel

oping countries from mid-90s with the aim

of giving a "Client Centered Approach" to the

planning and implementation of the programmes.

The emphasis in this new approach has been on

developing partnerships with decentralised and

grass-root level institutions for participatory

planning and implementation of RCH programmes.

This transformation or 'paradigm shift' demands

high technical skills in relation to effective

management and implementation

of the

programmes as weLLas expert skills for behavioural

change communication enabling NGOs to

implement RCH/FW projects focussed to population

stabiLisation and improved quality of life.

The Foundation, in association with Centre for

Media Studies, New Delhi, is organising training

programmes for senior and middle-level managers

on Management-cum-Behavioural

Change

Communication for NGOs working in the field of

RCH from the last three to seven years and whose

work-area is NCR of Delhi. The seven days course

wiLLcover Management aspects in first three days

and techniques for behavioural change communi-

cation in the next four days. The first course will

start from 3rd week of June 2002 and there will

be six courses in a year for three years.

District level Workshops on

Population Stabilization in Maharashtra

Based on the recommenda-

tions emerged from the

State-level Conference on

Health, Development and Population

StabiLisation Issues in Maharashtra,

organised in Pune during 4-5

October 2001, the Foundation, in

coLLaboration with Community Aid

and Sponsorship Programme (CASP)

is organising District-level Workshops

in Maharasthra.

The Health Department of

Maharashtra has identified eight

districts which lag behind in most of

the counts identified as areas of

concern. Aurangabad,

Pune,

Amravati, Nagpur, Nasik, Konkan,

Parbhani and Gadchiroli have been

identified for organising the District-

level Workshops.

The main objectives

organising these Workshops are to

discuss the status of the Districts

with respect to population

stabilization; to identify factors that

have contributed to the poor

performance in the Districts; to

arrive at implementable, action-

oriented suggestions with a possible

time-frame, for improving the

situation in the Districts and to

discuss the possibility of introducing

a broad-based

monitoring

mechanism to gauge the entire

implementation process.

Each Workshop will be of two

days. Participants will include

government officials from the

concerned Departments, Political

Leaders, Representatives of NGOs,

media persons and Institutions of

Social Work, Mass Communication

etc.

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Improving the Availability and Quality of RCH

Services at the Grass-root Level in Taranagar block

of Churu District, Raiasthan

The Taranagar block of Churu

district in Rajasthan is one

of the most backward areas

in respect of education, health and

infrastructural facilities. Most of

the villages are under-served in

terms of government health

facilities and functionaries. The

Reproductive and Child Health

Services in this region are also very

poor. About 97 per cent of the

deliveries take place at home by

untrained birth attendants, which

significantly contribute to maternal

and infant deaths in the villages.

The infant mortality rate is quite

high, 98.48 per thousand live

births. The Couple Protection Rate

is also less than 30 per cent in the

region. Other diseases commonly

prevalent in the area are

tuberculosis, diarrhea, RTIs etc.

This dismal state is mainly due to

lack of awareness and access to

health services.

The Foundation has taken the

initiative in collaboration with

Bhoruka Charitable Trust based in the

Churu district for implementing the

project in the area, covering

50 villages with a population of

50,000.

The Foundation, with the

expertise of Bhoruka Charitable Trust,

is trying to identify the key health

care service providers for solving most

common RCHproblems, assessing their

service quality and making necessary

interventions for upgrading their skills

and service quality. On the other hand,

it is trying to create effective demand

for services by providing client based

services, making clients active

partners. These health care service

providers (Gram Chikitsaks) will be

trained and sensitized to provide RCH

services, linked up for referrals to PHC

and CHCs. Dais, one from each village,

will be trained at the initial stage and

then re-oriented as per the need. A

local woman with some basic

education will be trained on RCH and

basic health issues and will serve as

a catalyst between villagers and

health services. These Swasthya

Sevikas will be motivated to act as

depot holders for distribution of

family planning and health related

supply at a nominal cost. Two

Swasthya Pariveshikas will also be

identified. Each will have a group of

25 villages under her, preferably an

ANM with community experience.

Her main role will be coordination of

activities, supervision and reporting.

Self-Help Groups will also serve as a

forum for addressing reproductive

health issues and economic

empowerment.

In order to ensure

sustainability, a Gram Swasthya

Samiti will be formed comprising of

10-20 representatives from each

village to ensure better

implementation and supervision of

the project during the project period

and will further be motivated to take

the responsibilities

of the

sustainability of the programme. -

Intensive Reproductive Health and Family Welfare

Programmes in District Badaun

Population Foundation of India in collaboration

with Tata Chemicals Society for Rural

Development initiated a new project on

"Intensive Reproductive Health and Family Welfare

programmes for Gannaur block in Badaun District of Uttar

Pradesh".

The objectives of the project are to provide

comprehensive health care to the rural population in

Gunnaur block so as to achieve the targets laid down

in the Uttar Pradesh Population Policy. These targets

can only be achieved if comprehensive health services

are provided with special focus on increase in the

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Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh, a

non-government

organisation;

Satprakashan Sanchar Kendra, and

All India Radio, Indore. Dr Roshan

Benjamin Khan, lecuturer of English

literature by profession and a

renowned radio artist is the key

person in coordinating with the

three agencies and also playing a

crucial role of Sutradhar in the series

Ujala. BGMS, under the leadership of

Mrs Usha Agrawal, has been very

kind in organising the Script Writers'

Workshop and also helping in

on rh November 2001. The District

Collector of Indore, Mohammed

Suleman inaugurated the Workshop

which was also attended by the

President, Smt Shalini Moghe,

Secretary, Ms Aarthi Chatterjee and

Executive Secretary, Ms Usha Agrawal

of BGMS. Nearly 30 writers from that

region, having experience of writing

and producing social awareness

programmes for radio, participated.

Mr Vincent Victor, Joint Director, PFI,

explained the aim of launching the

Community Radio Programme at

Indore. Mrs Geeta Malhotra,

While making a visit to one of

the villages of Indore for informal

discussions about the Radio

programme, Ujala, it was observed

that women and young girls were

aware of the Ujala programme and

shared the contents of the dramas

and the messages depicted from the

already broadcast episodes. By the

end of March, almost ten

programmes have been broadcast.

•

acceptance of family planning

methods, awareness about

minimum age for motherhood,

spacing between children,

awareness about age at

marriage, records of births and

deaths, reduction of maternal

mortality, immunization, child

care and nutrition.

A view of Script· Writers Workshop. Seen are (from left) Ms Aarti Chatterjee, Secretary, BGMS, Mr

Vincent Victor, Joint Director, PFI, Mr Mohammed Suleman, District Collector, Indore and Ms Usha

Agrawal, Executive Secretary, BGMS.

publicity of the programme in their

project areas. Satprakashan Sanchar

Kendra is assisting in recording of

the dramas in their studio and All

India Radio, Indore is broadcasting

the dramas.

The first Script Writers'

Workshop was organised at Indore

Programme Officer, explained the

themes of the scripts to the writers

focussing on Reproductive and

Child Health, Family Planning,

HIV/ AIDs, Adolescent health,

pre-natal, intra-natal and post-

natal care, importance of girl

child in the family; women's

empowerment etc.

The specific targets are

to reduce the total fertility

rate to 2.7 per women; to

reduce maternal mortality rate

by 50 per cent, from 707 to

394 per 100,000 live births; to

reduce infant mortality rate

from 85 per 1000 live births to

73 per 1000 live births and to

ensure that the villages are

self-sufficient after completion

of the project. The project

aims to achieve the targets set

in the Uttar Pradesh

Population Policy in a period

of five years.

2 Pages 11-20

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2.1 Page 11

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District Level Workshops on Health, Development and

Population Stabilisation In Garhwal, Uttaranchal

With the support of the

Population Foundation of

India, Himalayan Jan

discussed in these Workshops was

"Women's Health" with specific focus

to Uttaranchal - "Women start their

cial related problems in the village

communities.

It was recommended that iden-

Kalyan Evam Bal Vikas Samiti (HJKS) journey for fodder

tification of tar-

Rudraprayag coordinated the district

level workshops in five districts of

Garhwal - Chamoli,Rudraprayag,

Pauri, Tehri and Dehra Dun.

collection at 4 am

with torch made

out of burning of

chilou. They re-

WOMEN'S HEALTH, FEMALE

FOETICIDE, PROMOTION OF

TRADITIONAL SYSTEM OF

MEDICINE, NEED OF

get couples has to

be done and they

need counseling.

One should also

District Health Department ac-

tively participated. Chief Medical Of-

ficers, Public Representatives like

turn home by

evening. This

speaks the tale of

most of the

POPULATION EDUCATION AT

SCHOOL AND COLLEGES,

EMPOWERMENT OF

WOMEN, STRENGTHENING

focus on adoles-

cent girls and

boys on these is-

Block Pramukh, BDC members, zila women folk in the

OF PANCHAYATI RAJ

panchayat members and village rural region. She

INSTITUTIONS WERE THE

Another ma-

pradhans also participated in the is too busy with

ISSUES DISCUSSED DURING

jor issue which is

workshops.

her daily chores

THESE WORKSHOPS.

relevant

Women's health, access to to remember tak-

health and family planning services, ing medicine. Her health is her last

female foeticide, promotion of tradi- priority, she is ill w~en she is bed-

tional system of medicine, disaster ridden." Patriarchal viewpoint of so-

management,

ciety reflects it-

need of popula-

tion education at

school and col-

leges and aware-

ness at commu-

nity level, em-

powerment of

women, strength-

eni ng

Panchayati Raj

MALNUTRITION IS LIKE

EPIDEMIC AMONG WOMEN.

SON-PREFERENCE IS DEEP-

ROOTED IN THE CULTURE.

LONG SEATED TRADITIONS

AND THE CULTURAL VALUES

UNDERLYING THEM ARE THE

KEY FACTORS FOR MANY

HEALTH AND SOCIAL