Community health Projects started in year 1976 and has completed successful 40 years. EHA now runs 44 Community health and development projects addresses the issues of poverty by promoting adaptive livelihoods in farming, non-farming and skilling sector. Our research programmes are carried out by international support as well as Indian Council for medical research. EHA partnered various state governments and government of India in policy development, programing and capacity building.  

GOALS

• To reduce the major disease burden in the communities we served through their participation at an affordable cost.
• Communities prosper economically, demonstrating good stewardship of their available resources, living in a safe and healthy environment, constantly learning, demonstrating mutual trust, cooperation and caring attitudes towards other communities.

Thematic Areas

1. Disability
   
2. Mental Health
   
3. Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child & Adolescent Health
   
4. Prevention of Human trafficking & Child abuse
   
5. Climate change & disaster risk reduction

CH Projects working under different themes

What we do?

1. Disability

Strategies:

• Twin track approach adopted: disability specific ( increase the empowerment & participation of people with disability) & Disability-inclusive initiative ( to ensure that all developmental projects include a disability perspective & are full access to all people with disability)
• Policy on disability issue.
• Developing tools/protocols to facilitate.
• Participation of wide range of PWDs.
• Capacity building of project & hospital teams.
• Supporting project & teams with dedicated staff support.
  

Progress made

• Position paper on disability developed.
• Project teams capacitated on including PWDs in their projects.
• In all constructions & renovation works universal design being followed.
• Guidelines for inclusion of PWDs in relief operations developed.

What we want to achieve? 

• # Of projects that are able to include range of PWDs in their regular planning, implementation & benefit stages.
• % of EHA building as per universal design.

2. Mental Health

Strategies

• Comprehensive community based mental health projects.
• Developing alternate cadre to reduce dependency on psychiatric doctor & nurses.
• Skilling of general physicians to deal with common mental disorders.
• Documentation of process and strategy for mainstreaming mental health components in other projects.
• Capacity building & handholding of projects for inclusion of mental health component in regular project.

Progress made

• Teams from EHA visited several programmes on mental health in India & Nepal.
• Position paper on mental health developed.
• Capacity building material for different cadres of workers translated, contextualized and developed.
• Capacity building of general physicians to treat common mental disorders.

What we want to achieve?

• % of communities (with individual, families) exhibiting social resilience. *(Note a composite index to measure social resilience will be developed for all the areas where EHA is working)
• # of people accessing mental health services at different levels.

3. Reproductive, maternal, newborn, child & adolescent health

Strategies

• Alignment with RMNCA strategy of national health mission.
• Community monitoring
• Developing innovative solutions
• Public private partnership

Progress made

• Training of health personnel: ASHAs, ANMs as Skill Birth Attendants, government doctors, Missionaries (around 4000 health professional trained by projects).
  

What we want to achieve?

• Reduction in infant, maternal & under 5 mortality.

4. Human Trafficking & Child Abuse

Strategies

• Community-Based Organization set up mechanism to identify & respond cases of child abuse.
• Setting up a mechanism to track & register people moving out of village.
• Community monitoring to make district anti-human trafficking cell, Juvenile Justice Board, welfare board functional
• Setting up linkages with agencies in transit/destination points for safe migration, early rescue & rehabilitation

Progress made

• Child protection policy approved and becomes operational in EHA.
• Child protection officer appointed in all EHA locations and at the central office.
• EHA staff oriented on child protection and procedure to deal with cases of child abuse.
• Projects in Assam, Bundelkhand, Bihar, and Jharkhand developed a mechanism to sensitize and enable communities to provide safe environment for children, with evident drop in migration of children.
• Functional network with churches & organizations in cities established to deal with cases of trafficking.
• Focus on identifying most vulnerable families and providing them with livelihood opportunities.
• In some projects skilling and mandatory registration undertaken as measures for safe migration.

What we want to achieve?

• % of communities where person under 18 do not go out for work.
• % of CBOs dealing with cases of child abuses
• # Of grids promoting safe migration.

5. Climate Change & Disaster risk reduction

Strategies

• Watershed approach: treatment of land
• Organic farming.
• Introducing less water consuming crops & technologies.
• Measure to reduce carbon emission at community level.
• Skilling: strong focus on community colleges.
• Business model for developing alternate livelihoods.
• Developing partnerships with other agencies to strengthen business models for livelihood.
• Assigning with National horticulture mission, organic mission, livelihood mission, skill development mission.

Progress made

• Position paper on climate change developed.
• Advisory group on climate change became functional.
• Projects focused on water conservation, land reclamation, organic farming, SRI/SWI techniques and a- forestation.
• Introduction of solar lights and solar cooking practices.
• Introduction of millets as low water consuming crops.
• Promoting environment friendly alternate livelihoods.
• Go-Green campaign in EHA campuses.
• Celebrating environment Sunday in churches  

What we want to achieve?

• % of communities exhibiting resilience to disasters.
• % of communities exhibiting economic/financial resilience.
• % of communities utilizing low carbon emission technology /techniques