Foundations Launch Health Initiative for 86,000 in West Bengal's Farakka

Integrated Health Action in Farakka Block, Murshidabad

A five-time integrated health action is underway to address critical public health challenges for over 86,000 people in the Farakka block of West Bengal's Murshidabad quarter. The design, launched in 2024 by Ambuja Foundation in cooperation with the Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, targets 47 townlets across three Gram Panchayats in a quarter linked as a high-precedence region for intervention.

Murshidabad faces significant issues, including high rates of malnutrition, elevated neonatal and infant mortality, early marriages, low institutional deliveries, and a growing burden of non-communicable conditions like hypertension. High tobacco use, respiratory illness, and intermittent infections further strain the community's health. The cooperation aims to strengthen primary healthcare systems, ameliorate last-afar service delivery, and empower original vill institutions in collaboration with the Government of West Bengal.

Capacity Building of Grassroots Health Workers

A core strategy has been to make a professed network of grassroots health workers. Since the design's launch, further than 165 frontline workers including ASHAs, Anganwadi workers, women from tone-Help Groups, and Sakhis have entered training. Their training covers motherly and child health, nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) practices, non-communicable conditions (NCDs), internal health, and the early discovery of ails.

These workers are assigned with icing quality care reaches remote homes, with periodic lesson courses planned to maintain service norms.

Focus Areas of the Action

The action focuses on several crucial areas. In motherly and child health, sweats concentrate on adolescents, addressing reproductive health and precluding early marriages and early generality. The programme promotes early gestation enrollment, timely prenatal and postnatal care, immunisation, institutional delivery, and family planning.

To combat malnutrition, the design employs geste change communication, nutrition demonstrations, and the creation of kitchen auditoriums. Frontline workers are trained in nutrition and anaemia interventions, and 79 Anganwadi Centres have been equipped with anthropometry systems to measure child growth scientifically. Kitchen theater and nutrition sessions have formerly reached over 1,300 actors.

Addressing Non-Communicable Diseases and Infrastructure Development

Recognising the rise of NCDs, the design tools periodic biomarker wireworks using a Community-Grounded Assessment Checklist (CBAC) and holds special health camps. Mindfulness sessions emphasise life variations, targeting high-threat factors like diets high in fat, swab, and sugar and current tobacco use.

Structure is also being strengthened, with 20 Anganwadi centres repaired to include educational oils and clean drinking water systems. Sweats are ongoing to develop ‘Nirmal’ (clean) townlets with bettered waste operation and to install aseptic disposal systems in seminaries.

Way Forward

Looking forward, the cooperation plans to strengthen health sub-centres and Anganwadi Centres further, enhance service content, and develop a Clean and Smart Village model. Programmes on Menstrual Hygiene Management will be gauged up, and Adolescent Peer preceptors will be trained as community health leaders.

The coming phase will consolidate work to reduce early marriages and generalizations, lower child and motherly Mortality Rates, and expand access to family planning styles.