Malnutrition and lack of access to low-cost, high-quality medical care are just some of the health challenges that exist in India and which are being addressed by AKDN agencies. AKDN’s focus is on the promotion of effective and sustainable health care for underserved populations, with special attention given to women and children, in specific regions in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh through the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) and the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF).
The role of the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) is active in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana. In recent years, its role has evolved from being a healthcare provider to that of a facilitator. Increasingly, AKHS works through linkages with Government and the private sector. AKHS’s recent programmes have targeted the health problems of mothers, youth and infants.
The five-year programme is supporting the Government of India’s Swacch Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) and aims to facilitate the construction of 100,000 individual level household toilets, 528 school toilet blocks and 26 community toilet complexes in select urban settlements as well as undertake extensive hygiene promotion activities. The initiative is expected to benefit approximately one million people across 660 existing programme villages and contribute to government efforts to make India open defecation free by 2019.
Mother NGO: Under the Reproductive and Child Health II scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) is working with nearly 30,000 unserved or underserved people in nine villages of Kodinar Block, Junagadh District, Gujarat.
In India, menstruation is the subject of cultural myths and taboos; a period associated with impurity that should be kept hidden. Stigmatisation has produced an immense gap in knowledge about menstruation and hygienic practices among women and girls, leading to increased health risks, absence from school and work, and loss of dignity. Recognising the impact of poor menstrual hygiene on the quality of life, Menstrual Hygiene Management (MHM) has become a core component of the AKDN Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative. For more information: Brief - Prioritising menstrual hygiene management in India
The Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) is implementing the Maitreya Project (with World Bank support), which works to improve the knowledge, attitude and practices related to infant and young child feeding. The aim is to ensure that children receive adequate nutrition as part of their attainment of good health status. The project started in January 2010 in seven villages of Maliya Block, Junagadh District, Gujarat.
- the proportion of mothers who breastfed their newborns within one hour of birth increased from 17 percent to 65 percent;
- the proportion of mothers who exclusively breastfed their children for the first six months increased from 15 percent to 50 percent; and
- the proportion of mothers who were providing age appropriate complementary feeding to their infants at the age of 12 to 13 months increased from 20 percent to 44 percent.
The School Health Education Programme aims to educate children on health through participatory, student-centred methods. The project has been successfully conducted in 25 Anjuman Islam Trust schools and in GauriDutt Mittal High School. The programme has 19 Regional Education Centres (RECs) in Northern Saurashtra and Southern India.
The impact of these programmes included full immunisation coverage of children, a substantial increase in institutional deliveries, an increase in the number of regular ante-natal care visits, better understanding of newborn childcare, breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices among mothers, improved community understanding of hygiene and sanitation practices and higher use of contraceptives among married women in the project area.
Underscoring AKDN’s cross-sectoral approach, the Aga Khan Foundation also provides adolescent health and life-skills education as part of its education programmes in Bihar, Hyderabad and Uttar Pradesh. Using a curriculum, developed by AKF with technical inputs from AKES, adolescent girls in particular are taught how to cope with the daily challenges they face through modules focused on self-identity and esteem, working with peers, biological and emotional changes, and reproductive and sexual health issues.
Established in 1945, Prince Aly Khan Hospital is a 162-bed multi-specialty acute care hospital in Mumbai. The ISO-certified hospital is best known for its services in oncology and cardiovascular diseases, and renowned as a referral centre regionally and internationally.