India’s oldest Socialist Weekly!
Editor: Dr. G.G. Parikh | Associate Editor: Neeraj Jain | Managing Editor: Guddi
ASHA workers, India’s frontline health workers, handle a range of tasks: from fever surveillance, antenatal care to accompanying pregnant women to healthcare facilities. The bulk of India’s healthcare data is generated and maintained by these frontline workers. For this, they are paid an honorarium which is barely enough to make ends meet.
Women who work as ASHAs are still considered volunteers and not paid salaries, but are given a honorarium which is very low. And yet national and different state governments keep increasing their workload.
India’s poverty estimates are outdated. In the absence of accurate data, social security schemes cannot be expected to reach their intended targets.
In India, out-of-pocket expenditure of people on health was more than the government’s expenditure on health, according to the Economic Survey 2022. Over 63 million Indians are faced with poverty every year due to health costs alone, according to government estimates.
The poverty line is based on the expenditure required to maintain a minimum level of health, education and nutritional outcome.
The workers, who are crucial for keeping critical health and nutrition programmes running, are not adequately compensated and protected against Covid-19.
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