India's million-strong ASHA workers named Global Health Leaders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Japan on a two-day visit, congratulated ASHA. They are at the forefront of ensuring a healthy India. Their dedication and determination are admirable, he said.
FollowAccredited Social Health Activists, or ASHA, were honoured with the Global Health Leaders' Award by the World Health Organisation on Sunday for their work to connect people with health services. ASHAs include over 1 million female volunteers engaged under National Health Mission who take health services to rural, marginalized and hard-to-reach communities across India.
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ASHAs provide maternal care and immunization for children, community health care, services for nutrition, sanitation, and healthy living and treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis, among other roles.
Honouring the ASHA workers, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "They play a critical role in India's primary health care system, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential health services to millions of people. In Hindi, ASHA means hope. And that is exactly what the ASHAs deliver."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is in Japan on a two-day visit, congratulated the ASHA workforce.
He said, "Delighted that the entire team of ASHA workers have been conferred the WHO Director-General's Global Health Leaders' Award. Congratulations to all ASHA workers. They are at the forefront of ensuring a healthy India. Their dedication and determination is admirable."
ASHAs have been a critical link between the healthcare delivery system and the community. During the Coronavirus pandemic, ASHA workers played an instrumental role in saving the lives of hundreds of thousands of coronavirus patients through early detection of cases and ensuring that information regarding the protection from the pandemic is disseminated.
There have been numerous accounts about how some ASHA workers had to stretch for over 14-16 hours a day during the pandemic despite meagre salaries.
WHO South-East Asia Regional Director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh said, "ASHAs are true champions of health who help bring primary health care to people's doorsteps. Their work has been exemplary, especially during the pandemic. I congratulate them for this truly deserving recognition."
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