Short Communication
Year: 2020 | Month: September | Volume: 10 | Issue: 9 | Pages: 170-173
Engaging ‘Self-Help Group’ in Improving Public Health in India
Snehal Parmar1, Nagma Nigar Shah2
1MPH - Project Officer, Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi
2MPH - Research Fellow, Child in Need Institute, Kolkata
Corresponding Author: Snehal Parmar
ABSTRACT
India as a developing country has been looking forward to ways to cater health needs of its 1.32 billion populations, without hurting pockets of its citizen with universal health coverage as one of its core principles. The main challenge for achieving universal health coverage in India is ensuring effective coverage of poor and vulnerable communities. In such scenario self-help groups seems to be one the salvations as SHGs organise very poor people who do not have access to financial system in the organised sector. It is a possible way to deliver micro finance services to poor population. It is a holistic programme of micro-enterprises which covers all aspects of self-employment, organization of the rural poor into self Help groups and their capacity building. SHGs are also seen as one of the most significant tools for adopting participatory approach for the economic empowerment of women. Many studies have come up with a positive linkage between SHGs and health promotion. SHGs in our opinion can serve in dual manner first they can enhance capacities of individual to bear any financial catastrophe due to illnesses through easy loans, better financial safety through enhanced rates of employment with help of skill development programs and trainings and second using the platform for health promotion both ultimately making ways for improved public health in our nation. Hence SHGs can be the breakthrough way to amalgamate poverty alleviation and health interventions for community in an integrated strategy that leverages existing resources to achieve deeper impact and greater scale.
Key words: Self Help Group, India, Public Health, Universal Health Coverage, Finance service