Community Processes – Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CP-CPHC)
Overview of Division
Since inception, the division at RRC NE has been extending technical support to all the eight North Eastern States in implementing community level interventions under the then National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), which was eventually subsumed under National Health Mission (NHM) in 2013 along with National Urban Health Mission (NUHM). As emphasised by the Mission document of NRHM, ‘ASHA’ (Accredited Social Health Activist) is the bridge between the community & the Health Care Delivery System. The North Eastern Region of the country also has envisioned this fundamental need of community participation by engaging ASHAs. The division was instrumental in facilitating ASHA Training in module 1 to 5, Module 6 & 7 and in Home Based Care for Young Child (HBYC). With the launch of Comprehensive Primary Health Care by Government of India, ASHA training in Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) module has been rolled out in the NE states with technical support from RRC-NE from 2017 – 18.
As envisaged in the National Health Policy (NHP) of India 2017, paradigm shift from selective to comprehensive primary health care package has been initiated in all the NE States. RRC-NE is supporting the States in planning, identifying health facilities by saturating Blocks/Districts, conducting gap assessment of identified facilities & necessary midway corrections in planning and subsequent implementation. As per the NHP, universal screening for NCDs was commenced in the region with technical support from the CP-CPHC division of RRC-NE. The States have been facilitated in conducting ToTs (especially ASHA ToTs), conducting System Readiness Assessment along with the translation (Assamese & Bengali) of Training Module
Strengthening Village Health Sanitation & Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) and Rogi Kalyan Samiti (RKS) is one of the steps towards achieving ‘decentralized planning and community ownership of health programmes’. Determined to leverage the benefit of having strong & proactive VHSNC & RKS throughout the region, CP-CPHC division of RRC-NE has had conducted many activities including sensitization workshops with NE States on Community processes, Regional ToTs for RKS guidelines, Regional ToT on VISHWAS along with periodic field visits and reviews. Community Action for Health (CAH) is being implemented in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland , Sikkim and Tripura. Assam was one among the nine pilot States of country, where community monitoring had been rolled out. RRCNE was a part of the 1st phase pilot State Evaluation Process and currently extending supports to the States in rolling out the programme.
ASHA Certification Programme under National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) is an initiative for social recognition of skilled, efficient and pro-active ASHAs, which was initiated in the North Eastern Region in 2016 – 17. RRC-NE has been providing technical support to the NE States in the entire process of accreditation & certification programme, as per the tripartite MoU signed by MoH&FW, NIOS and NHSRC. In the first phase, the programme had been initiated in four States: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim & Tripura. Eventually, the programme had been implemented in remaining four NE States: Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. RRC-NE has been the core technical support to theses States in – identifying state/district training sites, assessment of the selected training sites (State/District), facilitating in refresher training & holding examination.
The division is involved in carrying out assessment/evaluation studies the findings of which help the States as well as been referred in policy decisions. The division supports the NE States in prioritizing activities, to be included in the annual action plans, appraises all the State PIPs and Supplementary PIPs and provides technical comments on the activities proposed under Community Processes in addition to overseeing the implementation of the approved activities in the States.
The division has been conducting supporting supervision in facilitating the States with the intention of suggesting corrective measures to the States and documenting the success stories from the field.