Anti Leprosy Day Marks A Leap Towards Leprosy - Free India, a Dream of Mahatma Gandhi by Karishma Abhishek on February 2, 2021 at 7:11 AM Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) has been jointly launched by the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination Mr. Yohei Sasakawa (Recipient of Gandhi Peace Prize 2018), Sasakawa Leprosy (Hansen s Disease) Initiative, National Leprosy Eradication Programme (NLEP) of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India (MoHFW), and WHO India in the run-up to Anti Leprosy Day on January 30, 2021. Leprosy, also known as Hansen s disease is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae. It is characterized by
Indian Covid-19 patients rest on beds at an indoor sports stadium, temporarily been converted into an emergency Covid 19 care center, as India crossed 10 million Covid-19 cases, becoming the second nation in the world after the US to reach the grim milestone, on December 19, 2020 in Delhi, India
Image: Yawar Nazir/Getty Images
The Union Budget on February 1, being presented in the shadow of the pandemic, is bound to have a strong health focus, given that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is expected to present a roadmap for vaccinations against the coronavirus and strengthening of overall health infrastructure, while also indicating how much the government actually spent for tackling Covid-19 in the fiscal year 2020-21.
Technology can enable India to leapfrog into an advanced healthcare system that fulfils the vision of the national health policy of promoting wellness, universal access and affordable care for all Indians. The National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) launched on August 15, 2020 seeks to enable this by bridging the existing gap amongst different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.
For such a model to succeed, technological implementation cannot be top down. In India, 66% of the population live in villages, and while they may know how to use a smartphone, they may not know how to download a mobile app.
To spur technological adoption and bridge the existing digital divide, India will have to deploy an army of empowered and tech-savvy ‘Digital Health Agents’. Fortunately, rural India has a huge untapped resource pool of close to 9,00,000 ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) workers who act as a bridge between the government and people, and are playi
ASHA workers demand release of dues
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Increase in budget allocation, better working conditions on their wish list
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Increase in budget allocation, better working conditions on their wish list
Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers staged a protest at the Gandhi Statue near the GVMC office on Thursday, demanding an increase in the budget allocation under National Health Mission (NHM) by the Centre, and payment of the additional allowance of ₹1,000 for the lockdown period as promised.
Scores of ASHA workers participated in the protest raising slogans in support of their demands.
Honorary president of ASHA Workers union P. Mani said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused the death of several ASHA workers all over the country.