United Nations/Geneva, May 23: India’s more than one million Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) deliver hope to people and play a critical role in the country’s primary health care system, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said as he honoured them with a prestigious leaders’ award.
The female volunteers of ASHA in India have been honoured by the WHO for their “crucial role” in linking the community with the health system, to ensure those living in rural poverty can access primary health care services, as shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
World Health Organisation Director-General Ghebreyesus announced honourees of the Global Health Leaders Awards Sunday to recognise outstanding contributions to advancing global health, demonstrated leadership and commitment to regional health issues. Ghebreyesus himself decides on the awardees for the World Health Organization Director-General’s Global Health Leaders Awards.
While presenting the award to ASHA, he said India’s more than one million Accredited Social Health Activists or ASHAs are being awarded for their work to connect people with health services.
“In Hindi, ASHA means hope. And that is exactly what the ASHAs deliver,” he said. First Secretary from the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva Seema Pujani received the award.
“ASHAs are trained female volunteers who take health services to rural, marginalized and hard-to-reach communities across India. ASHAs provide maternal care and immunisation for children; community health care; treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis; and services for nutrition, sanitation, and healthy living,” the WHO chief said, adding that 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.
ASHAs worked to provide maternal care and immunization for children against vaccine-preventable diseases; community health care; treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis; and core areas of health promotion for nutrition, sanitation, and healthy living.
“At a time when the world is facing an unprecedented convergence of inequity, conflict, food insecurity, the climate crisis and a pandemic, this award recognizes those who have made an outstanding contribution to protecting and promoting health around the world,” the WHO chief has said.
“These awardees embody lifelong dedication, relentless advocacy, a commitment to equity, and selfless service of humanity.” The eight volunteer polio workers in Afghanistan who were shot and killed by armed gunmen in Takhar and Kunduz provinces in Afghanistan in February this year were also honoured.
The eight volunteers, four of whom were women, were reaching thousands of children through house-to-house campaigns in north-eastern Afghanistan.
WHO said their work was crucial in a country where wild polio virus type 1 is still circulating. (PTI)
