IMPHAL, February 27: The second Thoubal District ASHA Convention 2014 of the Accredited Social Health activist was on Thursday held at the auditorium of Representatives of Lois (ROL), Kakching.
The convention was jointly organised by District Health Society, Thoubal and Nehru Yuva Kendra, Thoubal.
Joint director of Family Welfare Services Dr Kh Asha Devi; chief medical officer of the district Dr Kh Radheshyam Singh and community mobiliser of RRC – North East W Imo Singh, State ASHA Program Manager Haridas Chongtham attended the convention as chief guest, president and guests of honour, respectively.
Addressing her speech as chief guest, Dr Asha appealed the ASHA workers to be instrumental in successful implementation of the National Rural Health Mission in the state and added that this national flagship scheme could not be possible without the ASHAs.
However, the ASHA workers are showing lack of interest in their duty due to non-release of incentives, she said and added that ASHA’s service is far meaningful and better than the government provided benefits under the flagship program.
The joint director also mentioned that an ASHA only gets Rs 600 for monitoring a pregnant woman for nine months.
Elaborating further on the grievances of the ASHA, she continued that it is unfortunate that the ASHAs are pressurized by the ANM employees by assigning the ASHAs duties which were earlier assigned to them.
However, she encouraged the ASHA workers by informing that the government is considering their grievances and further appealed them to conduct health screening behaviour and village health nutrition program in their respectively localities. She further informed them to raise their grievances to District Grievance Redressal Forum.