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ACADEMICS

IMMUNIZATION

FIELD WORK

HEALTHCARE

VITAMIN A AND DEWORMING

CAP PROGRAMME

COMMITTEE MEETING

NIPP

MEDICAL PROGRAMME

The keystone project of our organization is the employment of our Health Promoters (HPs), who are local women originally from the low-income communities they serve. The HPs are trained and educated by doctors, communication, elementary physiology and anatomy, elementary nutrition, malaria eradication, hygiene, body systems, home-made ORS preparations, disease spread and health promotion. There is a written test every month on both nutrition and medicine in order for the HPs to retain and update their knowledge.

The HPs receive a bonus for each child who reaches the green zone in their area, as well as a bonus for extraordinary grades in academic testing.

Health promoters go in pairs, along with the supervision of a senior staff member, to the households of their assigned communities to monitor  the weight of the child according to the age, survey, observe, counsel, and listen to the issues faced by the residents.

Presentation classes of health promoters are taken everyday in which they present the topics assigned by the senior staff.  Presentation classes help health promoters to recapitulate the topics taught in previous classes and also helps them to boost their confidence.

HEALTHCARE PROGRAM

The main goals of the health promoters is to reduce the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate, and ensure every child under the age of five year falls within a healthy weight category.

The Health Promoters duties are to:

  • Hold regular meetings to pass on information learned to their individual committees (each HP has a committee of at least eleven other residents) in her particular block. In these meetings HPs educate their communities on the risks and prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
  • Record the weight of every child under five years of age each month, and classify them in one of the three weight categories: Red-zone, Yellow-zone and Green-zone. Children who are underweight are invited to join our Nutrition Improvement Priority Program (NIPP).
  • Educate parents on the relationship between weight and health, and inform them on how to improve home hygiene and cooking practices during home visits.
  • Monitor the health of pregnant women in their area by tracking weight gain, checking blood pressure and listening for fetal heartbeat during monthly home visits. This creates an opportunity to discuss the woman’s concerns and to educate about the importance of good nutrition, vitamin and iron supplements, and the benefits of hospital birth.
  • Immunize all children under five years of age with their childhood disease immunizations, utilizing whenever possible local government immunization services.
  • Give multivitamins to pregnant and lactating mothers and Vitamin A supplements and deworming medicine to children under five years of age.
  • Train at least 80 percent of all parents to make their own Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS) and administer it properly.
  • Give antenatal and postpartum examinations and care to pregnant and new mothers.
  • Enable residents to purify or provide for themselves clean drinking water.
  • Offer family planning options to young mothers to space births, thereby improving survival rates and development of both children and young mothers.
  • Each HP maintains meticulous records of their assigned area. The HPs keeps track of the total population in their area, along with the total number of males, females, and the total number of deaths. These stats are updated every month, and this gives DIR an exact picture of the floating population.

CHILD ACTIVIST PROGRAM (CAP)

The Child Activist Program (CAP) began in 2009 and is led by the Health Promoters is for children between the ages of 9 and 14. CAP is held Monday to Friday and its goals are: to educate, develop their social skills and leadership skills, and to promote sportsmanship and team spirit.

Some activities that are done in CAP are: teaching the children to make Oral Rehydration Solution, demonstrating proper oral hygiene practices, explaining what foods make up a balanced diet, explaining the sources and importance of iron, vitamin A, iodine, and vitamin C through interactive games, and explaining the cause of and prevention for diseases like dengue and chikungunya, and typhoid through fun and interactive games.

IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM

The first four Wednesdays of every month a team of health workers from the Punjab Government ANM (activated nurse midwives) holds an immunization clinic in Kali Mata mandir temple in Janta Colony. DIR serves wheat porridge to all the children and pregnant mothers who come for immunizations. Health Promoters are at the clinic to coordinate the flow of traffic, distribute medication, and record immunizations received on each child’s health chart. In the days leading up to clinics, HPs visit the parents of children due for shots to advise them to take their children to the clinic. At the clinic, pregnant women are given TT shots, and children are given oral immunizations and vaccinations including pentavalent, BCG, rotavirus, measles, and hepatitis B. DIR works to ensure 100% immunization rate in its target areas for pregnant women and children up to five years of age.

  • Give multivitamins to pregnant and lactating mothers and Vitamin A supplements and deworming medicine to children under five years of age.
  • Immunize all children under five years of age with their childhood disease immunizations, utilizing whenever possible local government immunization services.

VITAMIN A AND DEWORMING

DIR launched its Vitamin A  program at the end of January 2015. DIR 

 linked up with the international NGO Vitamin Angels in order to reduce Vitamin A deficiency in children under 5 year of age. We began  the launch of Vitamin A immunization  through talks and demonstration by  educating the mothers on the deficiency  of vitamin A can lead to blindness and skin diseases. A large number of mothers  were made aware about the new Vitamin A capsules which come in  two strengths, 100,000 units meant for children less than 12 months of  age and 200,000 units for children between 1 year to 5 years of age.  These doses are given twice a year ,one after every six months. On the  first day of the launch 31 children were immunized. A successful  message was spread in the Basti that all mothers came on their own to  get their kids immunized for Vitamin A.

 

DSM Pharmaceutical Company based in Switzerland, one of the largest  manufacturing units of Vitamins and supplements in the  world, donated  vitamin A  capsules and deworming medicine for children under 5 years of age and supplements for pregnant mothers.

The Technical Team of DSM Pharmaceutical Company also showed interest in seeing the distribution of these medicines at ground level. The Indian team of Vitamin A Angels chose DIR-India as an ideal NGO, to be visited by their various international teams.

International teams of Vitamin A Angels based in California, Canada, Europe and Asia were among the visitors.  International team of Vitamin Angels accompanied by the technical team of DSM Pharmaceutical Company visited Dhanas and Janta Colony. They also visited a few homes in Basti and appreciated the influence and field work done by the Health-Promoters along with the senior team members.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Along with weighing records of the children under 5 years of age, Health Promoters and senior staff take the committee meetings in their respective areas.  Field work is supervised by Dieticians and Public Health Doctors to assess and guide the family on a low cost high protein diet. Committee meetings consist of 11-12 women of the respective areas of health promoters. Field training is given on ground, and general awareness is spread on ORS, seasonal diseases like Dengue, Malaria, water borne diseases and all other communicable and non- communicable diseases through committee meetings.

During COVID-19 pandemic, in the months of January and February 2020, frequent committee meetings were held, both in Janta Colony and Dhanas, to educate the Basti people and make them aware of the deadly virus.

 

Health Promoters made charts and posters on the COVID-19 Pandemic, to give a photographic image of the disease, which made a deeper impact on the Basti crowd. Emphasis was laid on the prevention of the disease by educating them on the importance of repeatedly hand washing covering the mouth and nose by wearing masks in public places and maintaining a social distance of minimum six feet.

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