Centre for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA)
is a unique
resource agency which provides support to Government and Civil Society
organisations; which raises health and nutrition consciousness among women,
youth and children from disadvantaged social sections. It strives to bring about comprehensive gender-sensitive policies at
the state, national, regional and
international levels and networks globally to build strategic partnerships.
Approach
CHETNA’s approach to health
embraces the life cycle with focus on gender equity and human rights within the wide
cultural, economic and political environment.
Issues addressed
Enhancing the value of girl children
Optimizing health and development in early childhood
Ensuring equitable school health initiatives
Promoting sexual health rights and responsibilities of youth
Improving maternal health (reducing death, disease and disability linked with
pregnancy and childbirth)
Building food security and improving nutrition.
*CHETNA activities were
initiated in 1980 as an
activity of the Nehru Foundation for Development, which is registered under the
Bombay Public Trust Act 1950.
Information
and awareness is critical.
For
equitable policies and programmes to evolve, people need to grasp the substance
of their rights and entitlements. Likewise, policy makers and programme
implementers need to recognize and address people’s realties.
Rights need
to be actualized
In
grappling with the problems they face, people can gain sight of solutions and
develop their own space in relation to given power structures for actualization
of their rights to health and development.
Addressing
gender-power inequity is a basic need.
Discrimination is at the root of women’s and girls’ poor health, therefore addressing
unequal gender relations and working with men is also central to CHETNA’s efforts.
Indigenous
healing practices can empower.
Women and
communities are reservoirs of ancient health knowledge and healing practices,
based on local resources and intricately woven into people’s lives. These practices can
enhance self-reliance and health.
Capacity-building
Design,
implementation and follow up of need-based
participatory training for trainers, programme coordinators and managers on
health and development of children, youth and women.
Documenting and disseminating
Innovative
community empowerment experiences are designed and disseminated to
encourage replication and mainstreaming. The Information and Documentation
Centre (IDC) addresses diverse issues of women, youth and children.
Material
development
Need-based
Behaviour Change Communication (BCC)material addresses specific groups
using simple, regional language and cultural sensitive illustrations. They
undergo pre-production field-testing with user groups and are widely disseminated at
state, national, regional and international levels.
Global
networking
Forging
partnership between NGOs, GOs, CBOs, policy makers, media persons and others
at all levels is critical not only to broaden knowledge and perspective, but also
to leverage resources and bring about change.
Advocacy
CHETNA
advocates for comprehensive health and development of children, youth and
women at all levels by engaging with policy decision-makers and implementers
using evidence generated through field -based action, research and analysis.
Raising
people’s entitlement-awareness towards public health.
Regularly
dialoguing with media persons and the public.
Girl
children
Every girl
has the right to survival and social value. Social transformation is the key,
and for this it is essential to work with parents, teachers, social leaders and
policy makers.
Learning by
exploring
and doing
Through an
interactive exploratory approach to health education, children learn the
knowledge and skills to actualize their right to healthy growth and dignity in
life. Adults are oriented to facilitate the learning to be interesting and
spontaneous.
Partnership in promoting health
In an enabling
environment with appropriate support and guidance, children can and do become
effective change agents for community health and development.
Participation in development
By
analyzing their needs and articulating the challenges, adolescents and youth can
participate critically in policy formulation, programme planning, monitoring and
evaluation.
Knowing
one’s body and mind
Learning
how one’s body and mind work builds self-confidence and self-esteem; as a result
of which young people learn to take decisions related to reproductive and sexual health,
with responsibility and sensitivity.
Acquiring life skills
Developing
skills in deciding and negotiating gender and power relations ensures that young
people can take timely decisions to adopt practices that protect their own and
others’ health.
A holistic view of health
Not only is
women’s health related directly to their social status in respective cultural
frameworks, it is also a part of the life cycle of growth
and experience.
"Women’s
health is a personal and social state of balance and well being in which a woman
feels strong, active, creative, wise and worthwhile; where her body’s vital
power of functioning and healing is intact; where her diverse capacities and
rhythms are valued; where she may decide and choose, express herself and move
about freely."
From the ‘Women and Health (WAH!) Programme Approach Document, 1993
Women’s empowerment
A process
of reflection and action is geared towards raising self-esteem, confidence and
consciousness, encouraging women to access their entitlements and to improve
health and quality of community life.
