Summary

Program goals

SEWA Rural endeavors to reach out and assist the poorest of poor through various health and development programmes based on the community needs and available manpower. While involved in such activities it also seeks to ensure that the values are preserved and self-development, in broader sense, of those involved in the work is achieved simultaneously. The focus of all programmes has been vulnerable members of family i.e. the women, children, elderly and the poor sections of society.

Key program components

SEWA Rural's Jhagadia Hospital:

SEWA Rural's 100 bed hospital in Jhagadia provides round the clock OPD as well as Indoor and Emergency services. The hospitals sees approximately 70,000 outpatient and 12,000 inpatients every year and performs on average 2800 deliveries and about 5000 surgeries. 45% of outpatients and 80% of inpatients are treated for free. The hospital is approved for various health schemes for below poverty line families including Chiranjivi, Balsakha and RSBY. In partnership with the government health department, SEWA Rural managed a community based and family centred Safe Motherhood and New Born Care Project in Jhagadia Block which covers 168 villages. In this project innovative mobile phone technology is being introduced to empower front line health workers for better community based surveillance and service delivery to promote safe motherhood and child care. The specially trained cadre of frontline health workers collaborates with our base hospital in managing complicated referred cases.

The Comprehensive Eye Care Project:

The Comprehensive Eye Care Project covers Bharuch and Narmada districts. Every year almost 50 diagnostic camps are organized where 40,000 eye patients are seen. Tertiary level eye care is available at base hospital and about 5000 eye surgeries, including cataract surgeries, are performed every year. Of these patients almost 80% are from the very poor, who receive treated free of cost. The community based comprehensive eye care and rehabilitation programme covers a population of 900,000, of whom 900 blind persons have been rehabilitated by a trained cadre of Community Based Rehabilitation workers. Under this programme, Jhagadia and Valia blocks were made cataract free as per WHO guidelines in 1998. 125 children are being specially trained as braille teachers either at their village schools or at special schools for the blind. The Health Training and Resource Centre provides training opportunity to about 1000 trainees which includes different cadres of health workers from voluntary organizations, government staff and students coming from various academic institutions of India and abroad.