|
The remote reaches of the Himalayas are among the most deprived parts of the world in terms of basic minimum facilities like those for transportation, communication, education, and above all, health & sanitation. The existing healthcare system is highly inadequate in that it does not reach the impoverished, far-flung villages where 80% of the population reside and rarely functions during the winters when the need is the highest. The harsh climatic and atmospheric conditions, high levels of poverty, low levels of awareness and development, all contribute to the high incidence of certain critical and chronic diseases in the region. The traditional healthcare system of the target area, currently being eroded and hence threatened, is based on 'amchi's {traditional healers who reside in and service a group of contiguous villages} who follow the Tibetan system of medicine which uses herbs and minerals for treatment.
The Pragya Project on Endogenous Mechanisms for Health & Sanitation in Remote Areas is part of an overall effort at 'appropriate development, from within' . It is aimed at utilising traditional knowledge and creating and empowering area-specific institutions for addressing local issues of health and sanitation. It includes:
|
Health & Sanitation Studies
|
- conducting research into health & sanitation issues
- feasibility studies of potential technologies for improving health & sanitation status
|
| |
|
Traditional Healer Services
|
- establishing traditional healer institutions for delivering the required healthcare services
- training and empowering traditional healers with scientific inputs
- establishing nodal traditional health centres in the region
|
| |
|
Sanitation Actions
|
- generating awareness and educating the community on preventive healthcare and appropriate sanitation
- harnessing, training and facilitating local women's groups for addressing issues of sanitation
|
The project strategy is two-pronged. Curative healthcare is sought to be addressed by revitalizing the traditional 'amchi' system, empowering the amchis with requisite modern inputs through training and some fundamental equipment/input support, as well as developing an institutional and delivery structure appropriate to current times. Preventive healthcare is sought to be addressed by large-scale community awareness generation and education programmes and appropriate lifestyle support in the form of sanitation and nutrition.
The project has been initiated in the Western Himalayas and the following modules are in the process of being carried out.
Health & Sanitation Studies
Health & Sanitation Studies ~ Studies have  been carried out on existing health issues and sanitation conditions in the target area. Pragya members trained in the traditional medicine systems of Ayurveda and Tibetan medicine have been working on assessing health conditions. Traditional healers of the target region have also been involved in these studies. The studies have revealed the high incidence of various lung and chest diseases due to the high altitude and dust levels; water borne diseases are also high and on the rise due to the polluting of water sources; a third category of diseases with high incidence is diseases of the muskuloskeletal system, like arthritis.
Traditional Healer Services
Local Traditional Healers's Institutions ~ Pragya has established a strong rapport with the traditional healers of the region. The Spiti valley has an 'amchi association' which is being mobilised for the purpose. The amchis of Lahaul valley have been constituted into an 'amchi association' and are being trained.
Nodal Traditional Medicine Centre ~ A comprehensive traditional medicine centre has been designed in conjunction with the traditional healers of Lahaul & Spiti and is in the process of being established. This centre will comprise a treatment facility, including basic testing facilities and a medicine preparation and dispensing centre, and a research centre for the study of plant applications for various diseases. This facility will act as a nodal centre for the amchis servicing the remote villages.
Network of Amchis as an Endogenous Healthcare Service Delivery System ~ The project is working on establishing a traditional healer  network for providing near-the-patient, round-the-year healthcare to the inhabitants of remote villages in the high altitude Himalayas. The traditional system would be revitalized and improved with training and equipment in order to counter its shortcomings and adapt it to modern needs and technologies. Apart from the benefits to the community, this would ensure a cost-effective, endogenous and sustainable healthcare system; it would also help in preserving and developing the traditional knowledge of the region.
Sanitation Actions
Community driven Sanitation & Nutrition ~ A community-based preventive healthcare system that would ensure proper lifestyles through interventions in health awareness, sanitation and nutrition would also be instituted. This intervention would help reduce disease incidence and also improve awareness levels and thus the overall quality of life of the community.
Home
|
