ASHA
WORKERS - GOVERNANCE
News:
ASHA workers on
indefinite protest outside Thane collector’s office
What's
in the news?
●
Over 10,000 ASHA workers continued to
stage a strong protest on Day 2 outside the Thane collector’s office, demanding
that the state government issue the Government Resolution (GR) implementing the
salary hike promised to them in November 2023 to end their 22-day strike.
Accredited
Social Health Activist (ASHA):
●
ASHA is a trained female community health activist.
●
ASHA workers are a core part of the National Rural Health Mission launched
by the Government of India.
●
Selected from the community itself and
accountable to it, the ASHA will be trained to work as an interface between the
community and the public health system.
Functions:
●
Act as a care provider at the community level.
●
Facilitating access to healthcare, medicine and sanitation
services.
●
Raising the level of awareness of health
issues among the marginalised sections within the community.
●
Advocate for female health and hygiene
standards.
●
Advocate for a health-conscious behaviour
and approach to livelihood.
Key
takeaways:
●
The ASHA scheme is presently in place in all States/UTs (except Goa).
●
The states are mandated to employ at least one ASHA worker per every 1000
people.
●
They are chosen through a rigorous process
of selection involving various community groups, self-help groups, Anganwadi
Institutions, Block Nodal officer, District Nodal officer, the village Health
Committee and the Gram Sabha.
●
The States
have been given the flexibility to relax the population norms as well as
the educational qualifications on a case to case basis, depending on the local
conditions as far as her recruitment is concerned.
Selection
Criteria:
●
In rural areas, ASHA must primarily be a
woman resident of the village married/ widowed/ divorced, preferably in the age group of 25 to 45 years and
literate preferably qualified up to 10th standard (formal education up to Class 8).
●
In urban areas, ASHA must be a woman
resident of the “slum/vulnerable clusters” and belong to that particular
vulnerable group which have been identified by City/District Health Society for
selection of ASHA, and must have good communication and leadership skills.
Compensation
for ASHA Workers:
●
An ASHA worker is primarily an “honorary volunteer” but is compensated
for her time in specific situations (such as training attendance, monthly
reviews, and other meetings).
●
On an average, an ASHA worker's monthly
income varies from Rs 2,000 per month to
Rs 7,000 per month, depending on the state.
●
In addition, she is eligible for
incentives offered under various national health programmes.
●
She would also have income from the social
marketing of certain healthcare products like condoms, contraceptive pills,
sanitary napkins, etc.