Helping Frontline Health Workers Make a Difference
UNICEF’s unique interventions in the Urban Routine Immunisation (RI) programmes of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Nashik in Maharashtra have greatly enhanced the impact and effectiveness of health workers in the field.
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Over the past two years, field-level health workers under the National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) and Nashik in Maharashtra have been displaying a new level of confidence and enthusiasm while planning and executing routine immunisation (RI) and other health care drives.
This transformation is due to a comprehensive set of resources and support from UNICEF, which has collaborated with local governments in both these cities to enhance the RI programme. These inputs have included training modules, equipment, and strategic guidance, all of which have significantly bolstered the capabilities of the health workers.
The ANM and ASHA workers now have a new spring in their step. They are the primary frontline workers in several health and nutrition-related campaigns by the Urban Health Centres and the NUHM, providing crucial ‘last mile connectivity’ between government health officials and local communities.
All health workers firmly stated that they are now better skilled, better equipped, and more effective. Additionally, practical support provided by Field Resource Persons (FRP) from UNICEF helped them tackle many of their significant challenges.
These encompassed certain lacunae in skill training, educational materials and infrastructure, and the absence of field support in convincing vaccine-refusal communities to shed their inhibitions and allow their children to be immunized.
UNICEF’s interventions began with intensive, large-scale training sessions conducted at the city level by experienced staffers. Subsequently, this has been backed up by constant mentoring and assistance in the field.
At another level, UNICEF has contributed collapsible tents that provide adequate shelter during outdoor campaigns, portable projectors, megaphones and IEC vans to carry out mass publicity drives, explanatory charts and booklets for door-to-door mobilisation and individual immunisation cards for every child.
These have made it easier to carry out field-level interventions – mass awareness programmes, health and nutrition-related education initiatives, information about vaccines and schedules for groups and individuals, and actual mobilisation around immunisation drives.
The most prevalent intervention has been the new Routine Immunisation kit bags designed and donated by UNICEF.
These RI kit bags, which every ANM proudly displays, have specific placeholders for everything needed in the field and can also double as vaccine vial positioning stands when camps are conducted in the open.
They are also very comfortable to carry, hanging easily on their shoulder. This is especially important when camps are held at locations that cannot be easily accessed by road and where the material often has to be carried over long distances.
While routine immunisation has been the main focus, UNICEF has assisted the ANMs and ASHAs in streamlining other healthcare activities. One example is the monthly drive, the Urban Health and Nutrition Day (UHND), conducted with the local Anganwadi (nursery school) workers.
UNICEF has given special training in conducting such sessions and helped them develop creative displays and presentations related to care during pregnancy and after childbirth, greatly enhancing their effectiveness.
The execution of routine immunization programmes, while a critical focus, is now expanding to encompass a broader range of healthcare services. This expansion mainly benefits young mothers and their children, instilling a sense of progress and optimism in our healthcare efforts.
While routine immunisation has been the main focus, the ANMs and ASHAs have also been assisted by UNICEF in streamlining some other healthcare activities too. One example is the monthly drive known as the Urban Health and Nutrition Day (UHND), conducted along with the local Anganwadi (nursery school) workers. UNICEF has given special training in how to conduct such sessions and also helped them develop creative displays and presentations related to care during pregnancy and after childbirth, greatly enhancing their effectiveness.
The new thrust in the execution of RI programmes is thus steadily being widened to cover other healthcare services, especially those for young mothers and their children.
