CHETNA has been designated by GOG
to develop strategic promotional BCC material to empower the
communities to avail their rights to maternal health services from
public health system and through Chiranjeevi scheme.
To learn about the prevailing knowledge, attitude and practices of
the community in accessing maternal health services, CHETNA team
interviewed Female Health Workers, Sarpanches (village heads),
Anganwadi Workers (AWW), Traditional Birth Attendants and Lactating
mothers from 25 villages of Navsari district. The information received
from various stakeholders of the community highlights that ANM and AWW
are the key stakeholders who share information with the community
about the maternal health services. However, they have incomplete
information. The Sarpanches are also poorly informed about the
Chiranjeevi scheme and are not fully aware about their own role to
make the services under Chiranjeevi and public health accessible to
the women of their villages. Though the community is aware that the
services at the Chiranjeevi clinics are free of cost, still
considerable numbers of women have paid money towards room rent,
injection charges, medicine charges etc.
Keeping this reality in view, CHETNA designed BCC material to
inform the community about their maternal health service entitlements,
general information about Chiranjeevi scheme and how to avail the
services, the roles of ANM, AWW and Sarpanch in making the services
accessible to the community.
