I For India: Leveraging Technology To Ensure Better Healthcare

The rural parts of India are often deprived of proper and up-to-date facilities. The idea of healthcare in the villages is often limited to primary health care centers or hospitals that are far in the cities. Tata Trusts’ I for India brings to you stories of initiatives that are taken for providing efficient healthcare to the people in rural India.  

ASMAN – Alliance for Saving Mothers and Newborns 

ASMAN is an initiative taken for improving the survival of mothers and newborns in India by providing them better quality of care, during the crucial 48 to 60-hour period around childbirth, using technology innovations, in public healthcare centers. According to reports, the majority of maternal and non-natal deaths occur within 48 hours of childbirth. The rates of such deaths are quite high in the rural parts of India.  

Technology has been making the process smoother and faster as it provides the data to ensure the provision of corrective measures for high-risk patients. It also enables the health care providers to be efficient in taking care of the patients.  

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Making it happen – Combatting malnutrition 

A major part of the global population suffers from malnutrition. In India, 36% of the children are underweight due to malnutrition. Anganwadi workers have been toiling hard to educate the rural population of India about health and nutrition. Initially, the workers faced challenges in getting people to listen to the information, however, more people gradually turned up realizing the importance of proper healthcare.  

The 6 major facilities provided by Anganwadi workers are Shalapu shiksha, nutrition, hot meals, vaccinations, swasthya jaanch, medical facilities for women of 15-35 years of age and sandarbh. Prior to the anganwadi culture, people were not even aware of the children’s age, but now, they have proper records of their age, height and weight.  

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Telemedicine – provision of health at your doorstep 

Rural India comprises of 73% of the total population of India yet have access to less than 20% of healthcare facilities. There is a steady rise in the communicable and non-communicable diseases in the rural areas.  

Technology like Telemedicine helps healthcare transcend geographical boundaries to ensure better accessibility and availability to rural India. Telemedicine centers ensures early detection of health issues. These centers provide free medical consultation, cost-to-cost lab and pharma services.  

Watch to know more about the benefits of technology in providing the best health care.