ASHA WORKERS - GOVERNANCE News: ASHA workers on indefinite protest outside Thane collector’s office

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.