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ASHA Workers in India
Context
Despite being the backbone of India’s rural healthcare system, ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) are protesting nationwide, demanding fair wages and better working conditions. The protests highlight long-standing issues in their employment status and compensation structure.
Who are ASHAs?
- Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) were introduced in 2005 under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) to act as a bridge between rural communities and the public healthcare system.
- The name ‘ASHA’ means ‘hope’ in Hindi, symbolizing their role in improving healthcare access.
- Today, India has over a million ASHAs working in villages across the country.
- Key-functions of ASHA Workers: ASHAs play a crucial role in rural healthcare, covering a wide range of responsibilities, including:
- Promoting maternal and child health (ensuring safe pregnancies, deliveries, and immunization).
- Identifying and managing communicable & non-communicable diseases.
- Monitoring sanitation and hygiene in communities.
- Implementing health programs for neglected diseases.
- Collecting birth and death data.
- Assisting in COVID-19 response, including vaccination drives and awareness campaigns.
- ASHAs have gained international recognition for their contributions, receiving the WHO Director-General’s Global Health Leaders Award (2022). Studies show that women connected with ASHAs are 1.6 times more likely to have safer, institutional deliveries.
What is the problem?
- The core problem lies in their designation as ‘volunteers’, which prevents them from receiving the benefits of full-time government employees. As a result:
- ASHAs are not recognized as permanent employees, despite their essential role.
- Their income is largely incentive-based, with no fixed salary.
- They earn as little as Rs 5,000 – Rs 15,000 per month, far below the scale of their work.
- While the government introduced a benefit package in 2018 (covering accidents, disability, and death), ASHAs still lack job security, pensions, and regular salaries.
- With growing pressure from ASHAs and labor unions, the demand for better pay, job regularization, and social security benefits has intensified, making this a critical policy issue.
Required Measures
- Fixed salaries in line with government health workers.
- Better working conditions (reasonable working hours, travel allowances).
- Access to healthcare for ASHAs themselves.
- Pension and other benefits to ensure financial security.
|
PYQ Q. With reference to National Rural Health Mission, which of the following are the jobs of ’ASHA’, a trained community health worker? (2012)
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
Solution: (a) |
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