Health

Health of women is indispensable for their family and the country. Yet, women give least importance to their health putting the wellbeing of their family members as prime focus. Creating awareness on self-health of women is crucial.

Community Health initiative focuses on health screening of women to ensuring early diagnosis of health problems. Preventive care helps to keep women in better form physically and mentally. Community Health initiative helps the poor save money on health expenses and reduces exposure to critical illness.

Reproductive Child Health

Low birth weights and maternal, pre-natal and neo-natal deaths in developing countries are caused by anaemia and poor health of pregnant women. The demon of anaemia and poor health could easily be addressed through promoting health-seeking behaviour and desirable change in nutrition intake habits.

Pregnant and Under five children’s mother health is the main stay of ensuring sound transitional generation. Many under five child death happen due to lack of knowledge and Inattentiveness to symptoms and avoidable health and in-hygiene practices. WomenStrong Madurai helps pregnant and under five children’s mother gain knowledge on self and child care by promoting awareness on hygiene health practices and on accessing symptoms in early stages, thereby reducing the risks.

Adolescent Girls Group was organised to address their health issues and march towards “building healthy generations” in the concept of Reproductive Child Health (RCH). Adolescent girls health is important for their physical, mental, social and economic well-being.

Health Screening

The Kalanjiam federations have promoted SUHAM (Sustainable Healthcare Advancement) Specialty Hospital, with required health infrastructure to provide health services for poor. It helps poor access quality health care at affordable cost. SUHAM initiative helps to provide primary, secondary and tertiary care through referral services with public healthcare perspective.

Focusing on the third goal of SDG “Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages”, due efforts were made for screening highly vulnerable health issues such as ailments due to anaemia and cancer. Incidence of cancer among women is higher than men, seeking immediate attention. The health initiative through SUHAM has helped poor women to identify vulnerable health issues at early stages and seek medical attention, thereby reducing cost on health substantially.

De-Addiction

Addiction to alcohol is one of the major issues among the slum dwellers resulting in leakage of income. It is estimated that 60% of males, especially the youth in poor households are problem drinkers. The purpose of de-addiction is to arrest financial leakage and facilitating male contribution to family income and safe guarding the family through the better health of its male members.

DHAN Foundation and Chellamuthu Trust, an organisation exclusively working on psychiatric care having a decade of expertise in de-addiction process has been partnered with to jointly facilitate the process. DHAN has made a Memorandum of Agreement with Chellamuthu Trust for piloting the process of de-addiction.

Boys Group

Promotion of boys group is being piloted for value building among boys in their prime age. Value and respect for women should start from home. Violence against women is on a increasing trend. Involvement of young boys in teasing girls and women is becoming a social issue. Disregard for women by men at home gets reflected in their social actions.

The Boys club instills gender equitable thoughts among the boys. The equitable thoughts help boys to inculcate the values of respecting womanhood at home and elsewhere. Deliberating on social issues and awareness building on drugs among boys helps instill good habits and establishing sound foundations for equitable environment at home and outdoor.