What is ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) Program?

ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activist) Program

Since the inception of NRHM in 2005, ASHA (known as ASHA Sahyogini in Rajasthan) has played an important and critical role in the implementation of health activities under NRHM.

The ASHA program was introduced as a key component of the community process intervention and now it has emerged as the largest community health worker program in the world and is considered a critical contribution to enabling people’s participation in health.

ASHA is a community-level worker whose role is to function as a health care facilitator, and a service provider and to generate awareness on health issues.

Besides delivering key services to maternal child health and family planning, she also renders important services under the National Disease Control Program.

ASHA’s Work Profile:-

Ensuring 4 antenatal checkups, institutional delivery, and postnatal checkups.

Identifying the risk and referring the mother & child to the health institution.

Promoting attendance of children at Anganwadi on village health and nutrition day for immunization.

Holding monthly meetings of the Village Health and Sanitation Committee.

Counseling couples for family planning and distributing contraceptives to eligible couples.

Counseling mothers for immunization of children at every household.

Interface between community and health services to control diseases such as Malaria, T.B., Blindness, etc.

• Population cover ASHA

• Rural – 1000 population

• Urban – 1000-1 500

• Apron colors – blue

• Anganwadi is a type of rural child care center in India that helps poor children to eat food stomachs full. They were started by the Indian government in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services program to combat child hunger and malnutrition

• A Mukhya Sevika supervises between 40 and 65 Anganwadi workers, providing them with on-the-job training.

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