The entire team of ASHA workers have been conferred the WHO Director-General’s Global Health Leaders’ Award in recognition of their valuable health services to the people in rural areas. The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also expressed his happiness for the entire team of ASHA workers, saying they are at forefront of ensuring a healthy India and their dedication and determination is admirable.
The role and responsibilities of ASHA workers are very challenging. They provide services under the National Rural Health Mission. One of the key components of this mission is to provide every village in the country with a trained female community health activist ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist). Selected from the village itself and accountable to it, the ASHA workers are trained to work as an interface between the community and the public health system.
ASHA workers are primarily a woman resident of the village married/ widowed/ divorced, preferably in the age group of 25 to 45 years and are chosen through a rigorous process of selection involving various community groups, self-help groups, Anganwadi Institutions, the Block Nodal officer, District Nodal officer, the village Health Committee and the Gram Sabha.
Capacity building of ASHA is being seen as a continuous process. ASHA workers undergo series of training episodes to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and confidence for performing their spelled out roles. They receive performance-based incentives for promoting universal immunization, referral and escort services for Reproductive & Child Health (RCH) and other healthcare programmes and construction of household toilets.
Empowered with knowledge and a drug-kit to deliver first-contact healthcare, every ASHA is expected to be a fountainhead of community participation in public health programmes in her village. ASHA is the first port of call for any health related demands of deprived sections of the population, especially women and children, who find it difficult to access health services.
ASHA is a health activist in the community who also creates awareness on health and its social determinants and mobilises the community towards local health planning and increased utilisation and accountability of the existing health services.
ASHA is promoter of good health practices and also provides a minimum package of curative care as appropriate and feasible for that level and make timely referrals. They also provide information to the community on determinants of health such as nutrition, basic sanitation and hygienic practices, healthy living and working conditions, information on existing health services and the need for timely utilisation of health & family welfare services.
They also counsel women on birth preparedness, importance of safe delivery, breast-feeding and complementary feeding, immunization, contraception and prevention of common infections including Reproductive Tract Infection/Sexually Transmitted Infections (RTIs/STIs) and care of the young child.
ASHA mobilises the community and facilitates them in accessing health and health related services available at the Anganwadi/sub-centre/primary health centers, such as immunisation, Ante Natal Check-up (ANC), Post Natal Check-up supplementary nutrition, sanitation and other services being provided by the government. They also help to have things like Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORS), Iron Folic Acid Tablet (IFA), chloroquine, Disposable Delivery Kits (DDK), Oral Pills & Condoms, etc.
In FY 2018-19, the Union Cabinet approved the revised amount of routine recurrent incentive for ASHAs from Rs.1000/month to Rs.2000/month. States /UTs had also been requested to continue full payment of the existing routine & recurring incentive of Rs. 2000/- per month to ASHA during COVID-19 to ensure delivery of healthcare services during the pandemic. Additionally, performance-based incentives is provided for a varied set of activities under various National Health Programmes. After the launch of the Ayushman Bharat Scheme with operationalisation of Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres (AB-HWCs), ASHAs are now additionally eligible for Team Based Incentives (TBIs) along with ANMs based on monitored performance indicators (up to Rs.1000 per month).
