Health Situation in Darbha Block, Bastar District – A Study
Uncovering, documenting and understanding the existing health conditions in the Darbha block, Bastar district, the study highlights the preferences and practices of the community on the one hand and enplores the reasons for the deteriorating health conditions of the community on the other.
Context
P RADAN began its operations in Bastar district in September 2009. The organization conducted an initial survey of the area and after interactions with the various stakeholders such as the community, the government, banks, other NGOs and traders, it zeroed in on two blocks, namely, Darbha and Bastanar. PRADAN’s plan was to focus on social mobilization by forming Self Help Groups (SHGs) and clusters on a saturation basis in the blocks of Darbha and Bastanar by 2010–11.
The study collected data of the SHG members, using various parameters such as resources, health, sanitation, and access to rights and entitlements. The data would help build a perspective of the area and help PRADAN become familiar with the current state, using baseline survey methods. The team extended its outreach to 32 villages (30 of them in Darbha block) of 17 gram panchayats and 86 hamlets. It set three primary goals for 2010–11. First, to cover 4,500 families in the SHGs (300 SHGs) and help promote livelihoods that would ensure an additional six months of food (cash/grain), providing thereby round-the-year food security; to ensure an additional Rs 15,000 income in cash from other sources in a sustained manner and to help reduce the dependence on existing livelihood sources. Second, the team aimed at helping to deploy the extra income productively. Third, to assist—directly and indirectly—in addressing the well-being and the issues of women’s rights.
During the course of the study, the team realized that illness and health problems of the SHG members were obstacles to achieving their goals. The importance and magnitude of the health problems in the area led the team to focus on health issues as a separate goal. In order to form, deploy or assess any intervention strategy, the team had to understand the existing health status, conditions, problems, facilities and the overall health scenario of the community. Hence, the aim of the baseline study was to understand the existing state of people’s health in the area, in order to make interventions more effective.