Sustainable Healthcare Advancement (SUHAM)
SUHAM stands for Sustainable Healthcare Advancement. The Kalanjiam and Vayalagam People’s Organisations promoted by DHAN Foundation have collectively created this apex organization for furthering their healthcare initiatives. It has been incorporated as a Trust on March 30, 2007. SUHAM works for supporting and guiding the Kalanjiam and Vayalagam People’s Organisations to design, implement and scale-up various medical, community health, nutrition and sanitation programs benefiting poor and vulnerable households. SUHAM focuses on preventive, promotive and curative programs related to healthcare for in addition to facilitating healthcare entitlements from the mainstream meant for the poor and vulnerable people.
SUHAM works in three major streams viz. community health & nutrition, sanitation & safe water and community hospitals. Reproductive and Child Health, Anaemia control, Childhood malnutrition, Nutrition garden, Malaria control, HIV/AIDS prevention and control are the major interventions under community health & nutrition programmes. Sanitation & safe water streams majorly focusing on household toilet construction and its usage, community toilets, household water tap connections, roof water harvesting, safe water through water filtration etc. The community health and sanitation programmes have significant focus on prevention and promotion towards changing the behaviour and practice of target population. With the presence of vast network of public healthcare system, SUHAM chose to work with the system to enhance its efficient delivery of services by way of preparing the local communities to build sustainable and institutionalized linkages. Sustainable community hospitals are the flagship initiative of SUHAM where primary and secondary hospitals are being promoted from the contribution of poor community in Self Help Groups. There are eight community hospitals in three states have the focus on quality healthcare at affordable prices. The community hospitals are providing its services at 60 per cent of market price. It creates the impact on health expenditure at a highly significant way. The affordable and mutual health insurance programmes back the poor with cashless services.
SUHAM follows three pronged approach in healthcare advancement for the poor
- The first pillar includes community health, nutrition and sanitation programs, which are primarily prevention and promotional strategies towards healthcare.
- The second pillar constitutes curative care programs, which include establishing primary and secondary care hospitals, referral services for tertiary care, mobilizing philanthropic support for tertiary care treatment for needy people.
- The third pillar includes programs to facilitate entitlements meant for the differently abled, widows, old-age and destitute from the mainstream institutions.
Programme components
- Enabling self-health governance for sustenance of initiatives
- Facilitating behavioural changes through Behavioural Change Communication (BCC)
- Facilitating linkages with mainstream institutions
- Referral and case management towards early diagnosis
- Entitlement for eligible society
Objectives
To address the healthcare issues of poor and vulnerable communities by way of health education and promoting quality healthcare services, accessible and affordable to them.
In order to fulfill this objective, the SUHAM Trust is involved in :
- Guiding and supporting people institutions to promote savings and loan products to meet medical and health needs of poor people by themselves.
- Supporting the People’s Organisations to promote and enable village health forums, cluster and federation health committees for local management and sustainability.
- Training and capacity building of people and staff towards better implementation and achieving health outcomes
- Enable the people institutions to involve in entitlement programmes benefiting member households.
- Mobilizing grants from Government and funding agencies to initiate health programmes at people institutions for healthcare development of the community
- Supporting poor families who are in need of financial assistance for tertiary and super specialty care with the help of philanthropic support.
- Collaborating with various health and sanitation programs of State and Central Government to ensure
- Taking up research and advocacy in the areas related to medical care, health, nutrition and sanitation.
- Helping other like-minded organisations to evolve and implement health, nutrition and sanitation programs benefiting poor and vulnerable communities.
Mission
Building community and institutions for promoting healthy generations by creating access to affordable healthcare and influencing policies involving mainstream partners.
Vision
Centre of Excellence in promoting sustainable community owned healthcare systems.
Values
The core values of the Trust are :
Excellence : Quality work, Quality implementation and reaching Quality outcomes.
Grassroots action : Working with the community at grassroots towards ensuring quality of life of poor households.
Collaboration : Working with mainstream health institutions and insurance sector towards addressing the poverty.
Innovation : Bringing technology and model on quality healthcare at affordability.
Enabling : Building the capacity of governance and empowering the community towards owning the initiatives in a sustainable way.
Transparency : Bringing clarity among the members and customers.
