The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Community radio project to deliver health education

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Friday, Aug 22, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Community radio project to deliver health education

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Rural Health Mission (NRHM-Arogyakeralam) is taking the first step towards realising the concept of a community radio by launching the first FM radio for disseminating health education and public health messages to the rural population.

Radio Health, to be aired on the Ananthapuri FM platform, will be initially launched in Thiruvananthapuram district and then taken to other districts in phases. The coverage area extends from Kanyakumari up till Chavara. A formal launch is expected next month.

Said to be the first of its kind venture, Radio Health is envisaged as a vehicle for providing information on health-related activities in the State and for giving health education to the community, especially rural women. Apart from relaying programmes on health topics, Radio Health will also function as a link between the community and the health workers. Local people would be encouraged to develop content and interact with health providers.

“Our intention is to develop this as an interactive and educational device for the rural folk to familiarise themselves with health-related activities in their locality, to air their doubts on health issues and also to gain awareness on public health campaigns. Later, we want them to develop local content with the help of health workers and start relaying programmes so that each block will have its own radio health clubs,’ says G. Sunilkumar, NRHM’s District Programme Manager who is coordinating Radio Health’s programmes.

The first of these Radio Health Clubs is being planned in the Podiyam tribal settlement in Kuttichal. A radio kiosk and loudspeaker will be set up in the locality, which will be switched on every day at the specified time by either a health NGO or the local public health nurse. Health education in this area will focus on the problems of alcoholism and safe sex.

Initially, the programmes will be for a duration of 30 minutes and will be aired from Thursday to Sunday from 3 p.m. The primary target audience of Radio Health will be rural women and school children, who could influence and encourage behavioural changes on health issues within the family and community.

The programmes include health education talks by doctors, maternal and child care issues, phone-in programmes, and those that discuss native knowledge on health (‘Naattarivukal’). The district NRHM unit has prepared a panel of doctors who will help to develop programmes and to deliver health messages. Programmes for the next two or three months have been prepared. The response to the initiative from the field has been very enthusiastic and in many block panchayats, Accredited Social Health Workers (ASHAs) are taking the lead to anchor programmes and to develop skits that focus on health education, says Dr. Sunilkumar.

Doctors from the Medical College and SAT hospitals will cooperate with NRHM in this initiative. The cooperation of some private hospitals is also being sought. A quality assessment panel has also been set up, including doctors and various department heads in MCH, who will screen the programmes.

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