With 'Safe Delivery, Safe Life' Vision, This Uttar Pradesh ASHA Worker Has Changed Her Village's Healthcare Scenario
ASHA worker Deepti Pandey has been in the healthcare sector for more than a decade. Her primary focus of work surrounds expectant and new mothers, and nutrition among women and children.
A native of Bahraich village in Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Pandey has been working as an ASHA didi for the last 16 years. Her dedication towards her work bore fruit, and she was promoted to the job of ASHA Sangini in 2013. ASHA Sanginis are a vital cadre for the success of ASHA program of the National Health Mission.
She primarily works towards women's and children's health, family planning, and educating the community about the ailments they are diagnosed with. Besides, she also checks on the vaccination status of families. Ms. Pandey conducts regular surveys and gives her personal attention to any member of the family about all their diseases and health status.
Additionally, she drives her focus on nutrition for pregnant and lactating mothers. She explains to the families how nutrition is needed for a mother and her growing baby's health and that it is a non-negotiable factor. She keeps a check on women's daily habits of eating around 3-4 meals a day, taking their medicines on time, and much more.
Deepti Pandey was also involved in the campaigns, including Sanchari Abhiyan and Dastak Abhiyan in her village, that were scheduled last month. She and other healthcare workers conduct surveys to find people suffering from tuberculosis, cancer, among others, and register them with the government so they can seek the best treatments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was tasked with informing people about the causes and effects of the deadly virus, as well as the precautions they should take to avoid infection. But it wasn't an easy road for her. It took a significant amount of time for her to convey her message of opting for present-day methods over age-old ones, given the rigidity among the adults in the family. But now, the villagers come to her to seek her guidance on various healthcare matters.
COVID came as an unnecessary add-on to the multiple roles she was already playing. Several ASHA staff members contracted the virus, which made it an arduous task for her and her colleagues, but they took charge and worked efficiently. From quarantining people to arranging medicines, sanitisers, and masks for them, thesewomen handled it all. They would follow up on every patient, visiting them regularly to ensure they were recovering.
Nearly 20 lakh children live on the streets of India, without an identity, a name to call their own, a place to call home, sleeping on empty stomachs for days and nights. These twenty lakh are children, who have dreams, who have rights, who are our tomorrow. They are living in the shadows today.
During these unprecedented times, not everyone can afford the privilege of social distancing. And not everybody can stay home during the lockdown, simply because they don’t have a home. Those living in poverty are extremely vulnerable, struck with a sudden lack of funds, food, mobility and a struggle for survival. And, as with all humanitarian crises, it is the children who have been affected the most.
It is always the children on the street who are subjected to some of the harshest realities of life. Today they are battling a catastrophic crisis, and it’s time we step in to protect them.
As a part of our COVID-19 response, Save the Children is working across various regions and has already directly reached over 18,000 children and adults to cover their basic needs. The organisation is ensuring their daily needs and their dignity and hygiene are also being cared for. Save the Children has identified 2.5 lakh children in cohorts, across 10 cities in India. Reaching out to these children with emergency relief is a top priority. But this cannot be done alone.
Save the Children and NDTV join hands to bring focus to the lives of children living in street situations. As India fights the Coronavirus, we must not forget one of the most marginalised and excluded groups whose lives have been long ignored – street-connected children. The 21-day campaign will generate public interest and raise funds to ensure these 20 Lakh+ children who live, earn, sleep and eat on our streets are cared for and protected. Amidst the crisis the world is facing, they are most vulnerable, exposed to infection and disease.