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Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 19th Equilogues

Health Equity Network India (HENI) – the 19th Equilogues

Date

19-August-2022 Friday

Time

3:00-4:30 PM IST

Theme: Social movements for Health Equity
Experiences and narratives of grievance redressal for patient rights violations in Karnataka, India

Background: Keeping health equity as the guiding principle, social movements for health across the globe strive for justice and upholding the health (care) rights of individuals and communities. Social movements for health challenge inequitable health policies, structures of authority, unjust research, and health care practices. They are an important political force driving social change. Meena Putturaj along with others in their recent paper published in BMJ Global Health captures the many struggles of one collective grassroot movement to secure justice for aggrieved health care seeking individuals through the formal grievance redressal system in Karnataka, India.

Format: In the 19th HENI Equilogues, Meena Putturaj will be joined by Mr. Shivaputrappa D Malladada, a representative from the Community-based organization (CBO) that supported the collective of aggrieved care-seeking individuals in a subdistrict in Karnataka. Meena will present an overview of her paper entitled Crying Baby Gets the Milk?: The Governmentality of Grievance Redressal for Patient Rights Violations in Karnataka, India. Following this, she will steer a conversation with Mr. Shivaputrappa around the aggrieved community’s struggles and strategies to seek justice with the formal grievance redressal system for a case of alleged patient rights violations reported in a public health facility in Karnataka. They will also deliberate on the way forward for social movements at times of shrinking civil space in democratic countries.

Speakers
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Meena Putturaj

Meena Putturaj

Public Health Researcher, PhD Fellow, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Ms. Meena Putturaj is a nurse with a master’s in community health nursing and a master’s in public health from the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Belgium. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Health exploring the governance for patient rights implementation in health facilities in Karnataka.

Shivaputrappa D Malladada

Shivaputrappa D Malladada

Social Worker, Rannebennur, Haveri District, Karnataka

Mr. Shivaputrappa D Malladada holds a graduate degree in journalism. He has been involved for some time with the women’s collective of the aggrieved health care seeking individuals and spearheads the collective efforts in the pursuit of justice in a case of alleged illegal hysterectomies conducted in poor rural marginalized women.

CME workshop on Tribal health at Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Chamarajanagar

CME workshop on Tribal health at Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences, Chamarajanagar

health-equity

Through a grant from DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance, IPH Bengaluru launched the Center for Training Research & Innovation in Tribal Health (CTRITH) with a focus on research and action on Adivasi health in southern Karnataka. The centre has established collaboration with the Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS) and with NGOs to expand research and action on various aspects of Adivasi health.

As part of this long-term collaboration, CIMS is organising CME on Tribal Health titled “TRIBAL HEALTH – Bridging the Gap”. IPH Bengaluru & Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department are collaborating with CIMS in this two-day event. We are also working closely with the Karnataka Moola Adivasi Vedika & Jilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivruddhi Sangha at the state & district level respectively to ensure meaningful community engagement.

CIMS has obtained 4 CME credit hours for this event. On behalf of CIMS, we welcome teaching staff & faculty of medical college community medicine/other departments, research scholars interested in tribal health, post-graduate students/interns/under-grads with an interest in tribal health & NGO representatives to register and join us.

Date

18th & 19th August 2022

Venue

Dept of Community Medicine, CIMS, Chamarajanagar.

Registration Fee detail

  • Rs 400 (within 14th August 2022).
  • Rs 500 (Spot Registration)

Payment Mode

NEFT / RTGS / Any UPI apps
Bank Details:
Name: Department of Community Medicine
A/c number: 520101252141693
IFSC Code: UBIN0912328

Detailed Program Schedule
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Concurrent Monitoring of Midwifery Training Program in Odisha- CMMT

Concurrent Monitoring of Midwifery Training Program in Odisha- CMMT

Months

Duration of Project May-November 2022

The objectives of this monitoring study are: –
1) To monitor the quality of implementation of the midwifery training program
2) To identify the facilitators and barriers in the implementation of the training Program
3) To monitor the competence of the trainee Midwives and Educators and identify gaps if any corrective actions

Concurrent monitoring will be carried out throughout the training program, to assess the training processes and identify possible gaps in the program implementation. Both
quantitative and qualitative data will be collected for the study purpose.

The ‘Midwifery Services Initiative’ is a landmark policy decision taken by the Government of India in 2020. The initiative aims to train registered nurses in midwifery and certify them as Nurse Practitioners in Midwifery (NPM) across the country including the development of the Midwifery Led Continuum of Care (MLCC) in all states and Union territories. In, order to scale up midwifery training in Odisha, the state of Odisha has planned to train the first cohort of “18-month NPM” training in 2022.

UNICEF has partnered with IPH Bengaluru in conducting close monitoring and evaluation of the training of the first cohort of the 18-month NPM training program in Odisha.

In a first for Karnataka, a community-based research center on tribal health launched in Chamarajanagar on 08 June 2022

In a first for Karnataka, a community-based research center on tribal health launched in Chamarajanagar on 08 June 2022

health-equity

The Institute of Public Health, Bengaluru along with J.S.S. Medical College, Mysore, and Indian Institute of Public Health, Bangalore launched a 5-year research initiative on tribal health supported by the DBT / Wellcome Trust India Alliance and in collaboration with the Chamarajanagar District Health & Family Welfare Department, Scheduled Tribes Welfare Department and the Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivriddhi Sangha, a collective of the Solega Adivasi community. The center includes research, innovation, and training on genetic diseases and hemoglobinopathies.

Charulata Somal, District Collector, who launched the Center for Training, Research and Innovation on Tribal Health (CTRITH), a first-of-its-kind in the state, noted that the Central and State Governments have organized many programs for the eradication of malnutrition, yet there is concern on malnutrition in tribal communities. She expressed hope that the initiative could bring about changes in tribal health. The new project will benefit the Adivasi communities of Chamarajanagar and the state and she assured the support of the district administration.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Prashanth N S, Assistant Director at the Institute of Public Health Bengaluru, noted that CTRITH would help understand the underlying causes of malnutrition and addiction disorders among Adivasi communities, and come up with appropriate guidelines for implementation and action. The program was attended by representatives from over 100 hamlets across 5 taluks and the taluka solega abhivruddhi sangha representatives.

The program was chaired by Dr. C Madegowda, Secretary of the Zilla Budakattu Girijana Abhivruddhi Sangha. He notes that research findings should not be limited to the advancement of the researcher but should reach the lowest level of the community and its benefits should be beneficial to the development of the community.

The Director of the Indian Institute of Public Health, Bangalore, Dr. Suresh Shapeti recalled his tenure as the District Health Officer of Chamarajangar and noted the need for cooperation across various government departments and partnerships with NGOs and civil society.  

Dr. Deepa Bhat spoke on behalf of J.S.S. Medical College, and explained the importance of community involvement, explaining for action on sickle-cell anemia and other hemoglobinopathies. 

Dr. Vishweshwariah, the District Health and Family Welfare Officer, Dr. G M Sanjeev, Director and Dean of the Chamarajanagar Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), Dr. Mahesh from CIMS, Manjula, District Tribal Welfare Officer, Dr. M Jadegowda, President of Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra addressed the gathering and wished the program success.  

Media Coverage
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District Gap Assessment-Telangana (DGAT)

District Gap Assessment-Telangana (DGAT)

Photo of mother and child health wing in the district of Nalgonda taken during the team visit.

Months

Duration of Project February-July 2022

About the project

The state of Telangana, despite the challenges of a newly formed state, has also achieved the SDG 3 of MMR of less than 70/100000 live births. However, maternal deaths that are preventable are still occurring in India and in Telangana. Studies also indicate that there are inequities in access and quality of maternal and newborn health care that continue to plague our health system. Therefore, there is still much that can be done to further decrease the gaps inequitable care and end preventable maternal mortality. There is a global movement to ending preventable mortality (EPMM) grounded in a human rights approach with a focus on eliminating significant inequities that lead to disparities in access, quality, and outcomes of care within and between countries. The last mile towards ending preventable maternal mortality will require locally relevant and contextual interventions.

In this technical assessment, in collaboration with the Armman, in two districts in Telangana, we seek to identify local evidence-based actions that have the potential to decrease and prevent maternal mortality. We plan to first understand the gaps in maternal and newborn care service delivery that contribute to maternal mortality. This will be achieved through the analysis of secondary data and facility preparedness surveys. Based on the gaps identified, a qualitative inquiry to gain insights about ‘why gaps exist’ and ‘how they can be plugged’ will be conducted. Evidence-based actions that have the potential to reduce the MMR will be recommended.

Team Members
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Dr. N Devadasan

Dr. N Devadasan

Dr. Dorothy Lall

Dr. Dorothy Lall

Dr. Vaibhav Agavane

Dr. Vaibhav Agavane

Ms. Angel Sudha

Ms. Angel Sudha

Regional Consultations on ‘Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies in India’

Regional Consultations on ‘Implementation of Tobacco Control Policies in India’

The burden of tobacco-related illnesses is high in India, with about 1.35 million people dying each year. Despite comprehensive tobacco control laws and policies, implementation is varied among Indian states. The Anushthana project organized two regional consultations—held online and in-person in Raipur, Chhattisgarh—in association with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).  The consultations brought together government officials from health, food safety, police and relevant departments, independent researchers, and  members from civil society organizations from 18 states and union territories who are working in the field of tobacco control and public health.

The purpose of the regional consultations were to

  • Discuss state-specific tobacco control implementation strategies
  • Cross-pollinate ideas and facilitate research and practice collaborations in tobacco control
  • Promote leadership and highlight a set of best practices in tobacco control.