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| Rural Indian Health Project |
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Early one morning in Than Gaon, a small village in the Himalayan foothills of northern India, a mother was cooking over the fire. She was preparing chai and had just lifted the pot when Ashu, her energetic three-year-old son, bumped into her. The hot liquid spilled onto his back, scalding his skin. That same morning Ashu received care from Dr. U.S. Paul, who runs the primary care clinic in Than Gaon with support from CFHI. Dr. Paul used allopathic medicines – such as antibiotics or burn cream - as well as an herbal ayurvedic ointment – a traditional Indian remedy. Three days later, Ashu and his mother returned to the clinic. Ashu’s burn was greatly improved, and he played peek-a-boo, laughing and energetic once more.
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Clinic, Est. 1998: The villagers of Than Gaon entered into a partnership with CFHI to set up a small clinic for those there and in the nine surrounding villages. Under the direction of Dr. U.S. Paul, the subsequent clinic has been running successfully since 1998 - now in its eighth year of operation. As this is the only health clinic in over a 50 km radius, it serves not only the Than Gaon population, but those living in the surrounding villages as well. In 2004, it served about 9,480 patients, of which 42% were children, 30% women and 28% men. The clinic is dramatically improving the health of people like Ashu. It provides primary health services for the people of Than Gaon and twenty-eight surrounding villages, lowering the rate of infection and disease. Now, the health of the villagers is far better, and thousands of patients have access to healthcare. In the past eight years, more than 20,000 people have received medical care through the clinic and its health camps.
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| The clinic combines indigenous medicines and remedies with Western methods to give patients the most holistic, culturally appropriate medical care. |
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| Self-Empowerment |
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Health Camps: In addition to holding clinic in Than Gaon, Dr. Paul travels several times a month to the surrounding villages to hold health camps at schools and at the main village community centers, to treat those patients who are unable to travel. In 2004, he served approximately 1,340 patients, of which 59% were children, 26% women, and 15% men.
Training Local Women Health Promoters: In 2004, CFHI began to augment the services of the clinic and health camps by training 9 women as “Community Health Promoters” or CHPs. These women were elected by their villages to join in the CFHI trainings over the course of three years.
CFHI proudly introduces the Health Promoters from the Than Gaon area:
In this part of India, women are traditionally the healthcare providers within families. The health of the children and the men in the household is the women’s responsibility. When women fall sick, other women are more likely to nurse them than men. The health promoters identified in the nine villages surrounding Than Gaon are channels through which information can be disseminated to the villagers that currently lack health care. By training village representatives in community health we are promoting leadership at the grassroots level and ensuring sustainability.
This initiative is unique in that it provides a partnering, rather than a replacement, of indigenous and Western medicine and remedies to solve health problems. As an ayurvedic doctor, Dr. Paul is keenly aware of what remedies are available to people in the villages and as to which remedies will work to alleviate specific ailments. He is, therefore, able to combine this knowledge with a more Western, biomedical model to supply holistic solutions on a local level. We are also working in partnership with a local and knowledgeable NGO called SBMA-Plan.
CFHI's goal is that by the end of three years these promoters will be reliable and knowledgeable health workers who can actively work to sustain the health of their respective communities. The clinic run by Dr. Paul will continue to play an essential role in the communities, as the basis for the infrastructure we are helping to create.
The major teaching points include: health behaviour, health education, illness, assessment of basic need of the community, neonatal care, child illness, family planning, routine immunization, communication skill and style of CHP, role (Promotive, preventive and curative) of CHP in safe motherhood and child survival, key areas of community interaction like nutrition, precaution and rest of antenatal and postnatal mothers, and finally the use of technical instruments in primary health program. For that, the importance of numerical value in health program was internalized and CHPs were made familiar with the help of coins, notes, bell and technical instruments like weight, pulse rate, blood pressure instruments and digital thermometers.
Please support the ongoing work of CFHI and Dr. Paul, the Community Health Promoters and the Than Gaon Health Clinic. Donate online now, or contact David - donate@cfhi.org or 415-957-9000, ext. 305. Checks can be mailed to Child Family Health International, 995 Market St. Suite 1104, San Francisco, CA 94103. Please specify that you would like your donation to go to the India Community Health Project.
Read our update here
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