Children’s Health Center

Inequities in health and development are a central concern of the health sector in India. The World Health Organization states that one of the most efficient ways of ‘closing the gap’ in health inequities within a population is to address the needs of those who are most vulnerable. Research shows that families, and within the family the children, who are vulnerable because of their social and material circumstances shoulder a disproportionate burden of disease and poverty. They are also more likely to confront both social and structural challenges in accessing healthcare services.

Over 30 years, Shanti Ashram, an international Gandhian Institute for learning, development and collaboration, has served over 106 villages, cared for a cohort of children living with HIV (since 2000), immunized over 27,000 children, issued growth charts and verified birth certificates for over 38,000 children studying in government schools, screened adolescent girls for anemia, screened vulnerable women for non-communicable diseases, facilitated cataract prevention surgeries for elders and expanded sanitation coverage in over 500 families living in poverty.