| Project
Name: |
Khandani Sehat Wa Babood (Promoting Community Health) |
| Project
Area: |
13 villages in Deeg Block, Bharatpur District, Rajasthan (Mewat) |
| Funding
Agencies: |
Pathfinder International |
| Project
Duration: |
2000 to end of 2005 |
| Overall
Goal: |
To set in place concrete mechanisms to increase community awareness & acceptance of reproductive health/family planning, to identify & improve access to reproductive health and family planning services by enhancing skills of locally resident untrained health care providers, and developing an adequate, sustainable referral & service delivery system. |
| Objectives: |
To motivate newly married couples to delay their first pregnancy |
| |
To counsel women attending Nutrition & Health Day activities to space their pregnancies |
| |
To convince women with more than 5 children to use a permanent contraceptive method |
| |
To educate youth about sex and sexuality and familiarize them with the purpose and methods of contraception |
| |
To improve awareness of, access to and quality of reproductive health and family planning services in the project villages |
| Strategies: |
Link contraception to less controversial subjects such as infant and maternal health |
| |
Build capacity of local health providers (e.g. ANMs, TBAs, and PMPs) in RH/FP (e.g. safe delivery, making referrals, and contraception). |
| |
Establish contraception depots staffed by trained volunteers in each of the project villages |
| |
Create community forums and convene them regularly to discuss various RH/FP topics |
| |
Conduct home visits to counsel and advise couples on family planning methods |
| |
Train change agents from the community to work within their own ranks to bring about the desired behaviour changes |
| |
Organize monthly Health & Nutrition Days |
| Primary
Stakeholders: |
17,000 residents of 13 project villages. Newly married couples, women attending Nutrition & Health Day activities, women with more than 5 children, and youth. |
| Other
Stakeholders: |
Enablers (Community Based Organizations, Peer Educators, Yuva Mandal Members, Mahila Swasthya Sangh members, change agents and religious leaders); Health Care Providers (ANMs, doctors, anganwadis, PMPs, TBAs, and depot holders), the Panchayat, and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate |
| Networking: |
Lady Harding Medical College (Delhi), Jagori |
| Monitoring: |
Management Information System to track and measure the progress of the project |
| Program
Review: |
Pathfinder International conducts annual monitoring visits; Representatives from the Department of Community Health, St. John’s Medical College (Bangalore) carried out an in-depth evaluation in 2003-2004 |
| Media
Coverage: |
Rojana News Channel, A story about SARD’s quality education and health intervention in Mewat |
| Achievements: |
82% of women have consumed LFA tablets, received two ante natal check ups and 1 postnatal check-up (compared to 2% before SARD’s intervention)
50% of the male population is aware of the purpose and methods of contraception and family planning
46% of couples with more than 5 children use some form of contraception |
| |
40% of couples in project villages employ contraception
37% of young couples accept spacing methods/SFN
Increased willingness in the community to pay for value-added services and products in RH/FP
Contraceptives, IFA and ORS is widely available to residents of project village as well as neighboring villages through depot holders and shop keepers who receive their supplies from SARD and CHC
ANMs visit the project villages on a more regular basis and provide a better range of RH services
|
| |
48 change agents have better knowledge of FP and RCH issues (e.g. such as ante & post-natal care, parenting and the use of contraceptives) |
| |
18 Private Medical Practitioners (PMPs) have better knowledge of RTIs & STIs. They are also better able to motivate people to use contraception |
| |
9 Mahila Swastiya Sanghs (150 adolescent girls and women) have been organized; MSS members are sharing their knowledge with other women in their communities
9 Yuva Mandals (120 members) have been organized; YM members are sharing their learning and motivating other youth to attend Residential Camps
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