:: Health

Health was the first issue raised by Sangham women at the beginning of the programme - taking these forward, critical and analytical discussions were held at Sangham meetings on their health status and the lack of access to health care systems. These have made the Sangham women to take up different activities towards achieving health as fundamental right.  The major health initiatives are: Training on health to help & equip Sangham women to deal with minor ailments Sanitation & access to safe drinking water Ensuring total immunization and pre and postnatal child care. Sensitizing families towards pregnant women and child care Awareness and capacity building on preparation of food with locally available resources and without losing nutritive value Addressing women's health in a life cycle approach and with major focus on Reproductive health Spreading awareness on nutritional requirements and sensitizing Bala Sangham to reduce gender disparity in food distribution at household level Reproductive health in a life-cycle approach Enabling Sangham women to demand accountability from mainstream health system and thereby improve access to the same Reviving traditional health systems like herbal medicines Building an active cadre of health workers at village level for sustainability of health interventions Awareness campaigns on various health problems in general and on HIV/AIDS in particular Enabling Sangham women identify and take up appropriate action on area specific health issues like Flouride, TB Filaria, seasonal health ailments Understanding the issue of anemia of women and adolescent girls as just not related to health but due to the strong existing patriarchal notions with regard to work, food intake etc, and further influencing the status of women Federations taking up focused health awareness campaigns and programmes like pulse polio, adolescent girls health etc. Addressing issues of HIV related stigma, violence and vulnerability of women. Accommodating health as an integral subject of the curriculum in all education interventions