Health

In India, only 61% of children between 12-23 months are fully immunised.

Nearly 70% of children under 5 years of age suffer from anaemia.

Only 51% of women undergo at least three antenatal care visits.

Less than 40 percent of births take place in health facilities. (NFHS 3, 2005-2006)

India’s health services have improved in recent years and the National Health Mission has been seeking to expand the availability of healthcare to all. The main challenge we face now is to ensure that poor people feel confident and have access the the healthcare they need.

CINI’s work

CINI works with families and communities, as well as with institutional and government workers, to bridge the gap between service providers and service users. We work to build community confidence, make positive changes for women and children, and ensure that vulnerable people are aware of the support available to them.

In parallel, CINI trains health service providers, such as government front-line community health ASHA workers, to act as effective healthcare agents, as mandated by the National Health Mission, which entrusted CINI to function as the West Bengal State Nodal Agency (SNA).

We work to train and motivate local women and community self-help groups to act as a support network within the community. They work to create a community vulnerability map, implement health-focused strategies, and interact with families to help people access primary healthcare services.

CINI educates communities on issues relating to child health, reproductive and sexual health, including HIV/AIDS, and appropriate hygienic practices to prevent common illnesses at home. We motivate families to seek full immunisation coverage, periodic ante-natal check-ups and diagnostic tests during pregnancy, and early treatment in case of illness. We pay particular attention to adolescent health, and address reproductive and sexual health in order to prevent sexually transmitted diseases, early and unwanted pregnancy, and Reproductive Tract Infections (RTI). We mainly strive to empower young people with knowledge of the physical, psychological and emotional changes that take place during puberty and adolescence.

To find out more about our health projects please contact us directly on Freya@cini.org.uk

The Fine Detail: The Thursday Clinic

At the daily and weekly clinics, such as the Thursday Clinic, which is held on our main campus in Daulatpur on the fringes of Kolkata, women and children clinics are run to provide outpatient care, nutrition and health counselling and treatment for reproductive tract infections. Pregnant women and women with children up to five years of agecan consult doctors and health workers about ante-natal care, breastfeeding, nutrition, vaccination and childhood illnesses.

The Big Picture: The First 1000 Days

CINI focuses on key points in a child’s life and development. The first 1000 days of life include pregnancy and the first two years of life. 80% of brain development occurs in this phase, and if a child is affected by malnutrtion and stunting, it can have a lifelong effect on the child’s life. CINI works to ensure that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers have access to good quality healthcare; breastfeeding and weaning support. Intervention during this window is both life saving and life changing.