Community Correspondent’s video with the help of Medical officers, a Sub health center is now functioning in a village of Katihar, Bihar.
World Health Organisation(WHO) recommends 1:1000, doctor to people ratio. While in India there is only one government doctor for every 10,189 people. The findings of this report are drastic, highlighting the immense shortage of doctors, nurses, medical representatives, and even government health centers. A village in Katihar, Bihar women were giving birth to babies without any medical help. When Community Correspondent, Navita Devi, was informed that there were no sub-health centers in that Marghia village, and no doctors to seek help from.
Nativa decided to change this story.
“It is all done here, nobody from the government comes here, no one cares”, said Zulekha Khatun, a resident of Marghia village. Shanno Khatun lost her child while giving birth, and still laments, that if there was a health center in the village, she would have gone to the center for delivery.
Women giving birth without and professional/medical help are putting their lives in danger in case any kind of complications arise. In rural areas, either the health centers are very far from the community or not functional. The sub-health center in the Marghia village, Katihar, is closed for the past 20 years. The building was standing without any doctors or medical representatives.
Looking at the situation, Navita Devi made a video highlighting the issue in 2017. She conducted a meeting with the residents of the village and wrote an application to be submitted to the medical officers.
“We the villagers want that the doctors should be available here 24 hours”, said the villagers in a meeting held to analyse the issue at hand.
Ravi Rashmeen, who is a manager at the Marghia Public Health Center mentioned the shortage of manpower as the reason for the non-functioning of the health center. Soon after Navita discussed this problem, the Medical officer and the Health Promotion Team came together to solve it. “The ANMs were asked to sit at the Health center for three days in a week, by freeing them from the Rural Hospital (RH)”, said Ravi.
Now, its a relief for the people of Marghia Village, as they don't have to travel far to get medicines. “We are happy to see the change that it is all good and functioning”, said Mohd. Taimur Alam, a ward member of the village.
Despite the huge number of government programs on sanitation, health and nutrition, a report by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNIGME) which was released in 2018 stated that 802,000 infant deaths were recorded in India. In the midst of all this Navita is happy to bring change in her community, with the help of medical officers. This encouraged women to deliver in the hospital, rather than at home, making it a safer environment for women and children.
Video made by Community Correspondent, Navita Devi
Article by Grace Jolliffe, a member of VV Editorial Team.
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