Health

Click below to view a short video about our health program in Uttar Pradesh.   

 

Although World literacy of Canada is not a health organization, health issues are very relevant to our other areas of focus.  Education, women’s empowerment and income generation are impossible without attention to beneficiary health and in most of the communities where we work, poor access to health care, a lack of health information, and a neglect of women’s health are endemic. As a result, since 1997 we have incorporated a small health program into our programming.

World Literacy of Canada first began integrated health care into our project in a small way during our 1997 – 2000 program after receiving repeated requests from our NGO partners and the Mahila Mandals (women’s groups) for more health services and health education at the grassroots level. Many of the villages had no access to a first aid clinic within a 10 kilometre distance. Given that most villagers would have to walk or cycle to a clinic, the distance was even more of an obstacle. Over the past few years World Literacy of Canada has integrated a modest community health component in all of our projects in India that involves both health education and awareness raising, and some basic health care services; every project is set up to provide family check-ups and first aid.  Education on preventive health care and good hygiene is also integrated into the literacy curriculum for both children and adults, and health issues are regularly introduced as discussion topics in Mahila Mandal meetings. World Literacy of Canada is working in each community to encourage public awareness campaigns on serious health issues and helping village residents to lobby the local government to provide the public health services that everyone is entitled to.
Small health centers are opened at each of site and they are equipped with the minimum infrastructure needed to provide basic services and to deal with small emergencies, and are attended by World Literacy of Canada’s paramedic-trained staff. The main objective of World Literacy of Canada health initiatives is to improve family health and health awareness through a simple preventive and primary health care program. Though modest in scale, the World Literacy of Canada health program is helping to meet some of the urgent health needs faced by the family in our project communities and villages.