Category: Healthcare Projects

Hyderabad is a fast growing city in India. Newly developed infrastructures, a fast growing industrial belt have made it one of the most populous cities in the recent years. The city attracts immigrants from all parts of the country now.

Apart from growing at a fast pace Hyderabad also suffers from major urbanisation issues. While most of the city is developed and progressing at a fast pace there still remains a considerable population who still live in slums in poor conditions. Some of the concerned issues include poverty, rising population, unemployment, poor public health and education. Poor health conditions have increased the vulnerability of the people to diseases like malaria, dengue, diarrhoea, TB and HIV.

The rural inhabitants make up more than 77 percent of the total population, living different villages of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. Despite forming a major part of the state’s population, these rural areas face a dearth of health facilities. This dismal health situation is reflected in the Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh.

The grim health scenario is evident from the increasing infant and maternal mortality rate, poor sanitation, prevalence of chronic diseases, and non-availability of qualified medical staff. Lack of proper infrastructure for sub-centres and PHCs or CHCs is a major issue. The condition of the rural women is no less terrible. Young girls are married of early; as a result they bear children at an age when their bodies are not ready medically and physically. Thus, majority of the children suffer from malnutrition and many of them are not even able to celebrate their fifth birthday.

Bihar is the third most populous state in India and has the fastest growing population compared to any other state in the country. Talking about the Human Development Index, the figures have been recorded the lowest among the major states for the last three decades. Major health and demographic indicators like poverty and illiteracy rate, infant and maternal mortality rate, male-female sex ratio are worse than any other state. One of the worst affected is the district of Madhepura, which has a population density higher than the state average. The district has poor healthcare facilities, forcing most of the inhabitants to be dependent on quacks.

Smile Foundation’s baseline survey revealed that 95% of people in the ten identified villages of Madhepura belonged to SC/OBC community, of which 92% were living below the poverty line. Major issues of concern were sanitation, inadequate health services, irregular ANM visits, and unawareness of MCH components like ANC/PNC, institutional delivery and immunisation.

Barmer, the second largest district of the historic state of Rajasthan, makes up a major part of the Thar Desert. While a short trip to the charming desert seems enjoyable to tourists, life is not so fair for the rural population inhabiting the area. Many regions in the region, Barmer in particular, have some of the lowest health indicators.

The miseries of inhabitants are compounded by alarmingly high infant mortality rate of 82.3%; and social stigmas like the purdah system, female foeticide, child marriage and poor social status of women. According to a 2012 survey by UNICEF, about 6 to 6.5 lakh foeticides have taken place in Rajasthan in the past five years. Healthcare problems also arise due to lack of awareness on reproductive health issues in women. Poor access to healthcare services has further aggravated the situation. Concerned with the gravity of the situation in Barmer, Smile Foundation intervened, stressing the need of better healthcare services.

As per the latest census data, one in three people in Hyderabad is a slum dweller. It speaks of an astounding 264% increase in slum population in and around the metropolitan area. In total, there are 5.07 lakh slum households with 22.7 lakh dwellers.

The burgeoning urban poor population in Hyderabad struggle for basic services like housing, water and sanitation. The increase in the number of urban poor has increased the pressure in the civic authorities in responding to their health needs. Despite the presence of a vast public health network in the city, catering to patients in such big numbers is a daunting task.

With poor living conditions, no backup savings, food stocks, or social support system, the vulnerability of the slum dwellers to diseases and deaths increases multiple folds. The impacts of lack of basic amenities like sanitation, garbage disposal, and potable water on health on the one hand, and accessibility and quality issues of health facilities on the other, make the urban poor in Hyderabad susceptible to health shocks.

Rajasthan – the largest state in India in terms of land area is home to 68 million people. 17% of the total population of the state resides in Jaipur, the state capital. As per the latest census report, more than 7 lakh people in the city live below the poverty line. There are as many as 250 slums in the district with more than 60,000 households.

Majority of the slum clusters are located on the outskirts that include forestlands and flood prone areas. The residents have poor living conditions with inadequate availability of water and sanitation facilities, and overcrowding. The excess in the urban poor population has created a gap in delivery of healthcare services to the underserved children and families. Among the slum dwellers, communicable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria get easily spread due to ignorance of health-seeking behaviour.

Despite the presence of a good network of public and private healthcare facilities, addressing the growing demand of the health needs of the underprivileged section of the city is a big challenge. Moreover, with majority of the slum population surviving on a very low annual income, spending on healthcare services becomes a big concern for the families.

The state of West Bengal comes fifth in the list of ‘states with maximum poverty in India’ behind only Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. A whopping 22% of the urban population in Bengal lives below the poverty line.

Not only lack of essential civic amenities including drinking water, drainage, sanitation and electricity; but also absence of healthcare centres in the urban slums has resulted in the appalling living conditions of the slum dwellers. In Kolkata alone, there are over 70,000 people who are homeless and almost one-third of the total population live in slums.

Even though the city features a good network of public and private healthcare facilities, catering to the growing urban poor population is a daunting task for the authorities. Lack of awareness among the slum dwellers is one of the major issues that have led to the increasing number of diseases and deaths. There is a high burden of communicable diseases such as diarrhoea, tuberculosis, malaria, HIV and AIDS etc., in the slums. Also, there is a high occurrence of preventable diseases in the communities that can be evaded when the population living in the slum clusters adopt health-seeking behaviour.

Owing to its rich culture, heritage and biodiversity, the western state of India, Gujarat is often referred to as the ‘Jewel of the West’. Apart from a flourishing tourism industry, the state also has opulence of minerals and wildlife. In the last decade, the state of Gujarat has set a benchmark in terms of industrial and infrastructural development. Though high on development, the state has not been able to keep its social development indicators healthy.

In a time when the state’s economic model is being studied and implemented by other states, the rural population is still struggling for its basic needs. People inhabiting the rural regions have little access to proper healthcare services, besides basic education and employment. This scenario is similar in many districts and one such example is Jamnagar, better known for being home to the headquarters of Reliance Industries, one of the largest private industries of the country.

The state of Gujarat has being doing exceptionally good on the economic and developmental parameters. Though the Human Development Index is also average, the living conditions of the rural populace tell a different story. The rural sections of the society do not have access to basic amenities like education and healthcare. Despite the high economic growth, malnutrition remains a major problem in these underprivileged regions. Hot arid climate and scarce rainfall makes it difficult to cope with these shortcomings.

Also the sex ratio in the state is one of the lowest in the country. Lack of proper education has resulted in unawareness and negligence of the reproductive health issues in women. In the name of socio-cultural norms, women have to deliver children at home without the aid of qualified and trained medical help. Also, the regions have high child mortality ratio due to widespread diseases like diarrhoea, malaria and respiratory tract infections.

About the Partner

Prayathn was established in the year 1992 to enable people to respond to their situation of inequality and injustice. In their journey of 18 years we have always kept focus on programmes and activities that deal with health, education, child right, gender equality, empowerment and livelihood. Prayatna started working in Varanasi in 2008 with the vision that each and every person irrespective of their sex, age, race, column, class and religion should have a life of freedom and dignity in which they enjoy all their human rights and have the opportunity to fully develop their potential.

About the Project

This Smile on Wheel was launched on 9th February 2011. The project was flagged off by popular TV actor Roshni Chopra. The project is being implemented in 12 slum areas of Varanasi district. The mobile hospital unit visit locations namely – Bagwanala, Doulatpur, Bhim Nagar, Shalil Putri, Koniya, Choti Maldahiya, Nagawa, Sonbarasa, Navada, Khojwa, Dasawamegh Ghat and Sankat Mochan. It covers a total population of over 25, 800 in these locations. The mobile hospital attending each of these locations 4 times in a month.

The unit has a team of doctors, nurses and other medical staff along with all possible required medicines from distinguished laboratories and are distributed free of cost to the ailing. The patients are charged either nothing or a nominal cost for the treatment and consultation. With a special focus on the health of women and children, the mobile hospital unit also makes the slum dwellers aware about preventive measures against diseases and educates them in health and hygiene.

Going forward, this Smile on Wheels aims at developing in all the people living in these slum areas the importance of sound health and inculcate in them a health seeking behaviour.