Asha's approach

Asha's emphasis is on community-based healthcare. It's vital that people living in slum environments have an understanding of what causes and prevents illness, and so education must be combined with the provision of healthcare. The slum residents themselves are a key factor in educating the community about health matters. Women living in the slums are trained to be Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) and are responsible for passing on knowledge to the families within their care.

Also, Asha staffs and runs clinics in several slums and services other slum communities with mobile clinics, providing nurses and doctors to support the work of the CHVs. There is an Asha polyclinic in south Delhi to which more serious cases are referred. This approach to healthcare has been so successful that health statistics in Asha slums are better than those of India as a whole.

Community Health Volunteers

The CHVs look after around 250 families in each slum. They undergo six months training and receive a medical kit with all the supplies that they'll need for their work. They educate people in matters relating to health including the need for vaccinations, prevention of disease and contraception. Every month the CHVs receive supplementary training on current issues relating to healthcare, and get further training while working with Asha staff at the community health centres. The CHVs serve as a bridge between the slum community and professional health staff, helping people in their area to identify and address their own health needs.

Asha Primary Health Centres

When CHVs are unable to treat a patient, they send them to one of the Asha community-based health centres. The centres focus on mother and child health, family planning and the control of TB. Here, expectant mothers receive regular check-ups and can arrange for a trained midwife to be present at the time of delivery. Following delivery, their babies receive immunisations and Vitamin A supplements to prevent blindness. Growth and weight monitoring takes place every two months after birth, and mothers are advised on all aspects of their children's care. Doctors are able to diagnose and treat any slum dwellers where appropriate, and can refer more serious cases to the Asha polyclinic. In addition, Asha staff and CHVs have formed close links with medical personnel and paramedics in nearby hospitals and other healthcare institutions, allowing any emergencies to be dealt with efficiently.

Asha also has a number of vans adapted to become mobile clinics. These vehicles can visit areas and provide healthcare where there may not be space or the resources for a permanent clinic.

Asha Polyclinic and Diagnostic Centre

The Asha Polyclinic is a referral centre. It is equipped with radiography, ultrasound and laboratory facilities and patients are seen by medical professionals. There is also an operating theatre where minor surgical procedures are carried out. The clinic is open to all and treatment is provided to the slum dwellers at highly subsidised costs.

Links with hospitals

Asha has forged links with a private hospital in the area. At this hospital, slum dwellers are able to get free treatment at no cost, regardless of the complexity or expense of the operation or care that they need.