A computer-based system put in place by the State government to make rural healthcare more robust seems to be making life harder for the foot soldiers. This is because of a lack of basic requirements such as uninterrupted power, computer operation knowledge and Internet facility.
The government introduced Asha Soft, a web portal linked to the mother-child tracking system, in 2016 to make it easier to pay Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA). These workers, who do not have a fixed salary, get paid according to the entries in the online portal for each service rendered. For instance, they get ₹300 for every institutional delivery. As many as 35,000 such workers in the State have to update their data every month within a stipulated period to claim payment.
K.S. Gowaramma, an ASHA worker in Hagaribommanahalli in Ballari district, says that in her place power supply is available only between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.. “Within the available time, we have to rush to the Primary Healthcare Centre or an Internet centre to enter the data. All the PHCs have not been provided with data entry operators and UPS. During summer, the problem worsens as there is no power supply during the day,” she says.
The minimum qualification for an ASHA worker is SSLC. Many of them have completed their studies without ever getting to handle a computer. Now, they have to depend on others to enter data on which hinges their emolument. “Sometimes the system does not accept the data we enter. If we fail to do it within the month, we lose payment despite having all the records to show we have done our duty,” says Nethravati, an ASHA worker in Arsikere.
‘On the contrary...’
The Health Department admits to delays in data entry, but attributes it to lack of human response. “Of the 35,000 workers, hardly 1,000 may be having difficulty in entering the data. We have provided computers, Internet facility and UPS for the purpose,” says ASHA programme officer N. Rajkumar.
In fact, he adds, the software has actually helped the workers claim payment regularly. “We have issued show-cause notices to taluk health officers who failed to ensure timely data entry. Such measures will help the workers,” he says.
But the workers disagree, saying that their average payment has come down since the introduction of Asha Nidhi. “We are spending more time and energy on claiming payment than on the actual work. In some places, the workers have to visit PHCs three or four times just to enter the data,” says D. Nagalakshmi, State secretary of the Karnataka Rajya Samyukta ASHA Karyakartara Sangha.
The forum has demanded a fixed pay of at least ₹5,500 a month for ASHA workers and simplification of the payment claim system.
