Health Education Unit in RASS was initially set up with the objective of promoting health awareness among the members of the village community in which RASS had a presence. The pre-schools run by RASS became the focal point for health education, particularly for the mothers. The focus of the programme was to bring about attitudinal changes among people towards health issues and to prevent occurrence of common diseases. In the process of improving health status, RASS adopted the following methods:
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All primary and secondary schools falling under the project villages are covered under school health programme. Once in a quarter, a mobile medical team with basic diagnostic equipment visits every school. Apart from routine medical checkup, the school health programme provides health education including personal hygiene. The cases of malnourished children, psycho-motor disabilities and other handicaps are diagnosed and provided necessary treatment and referral services.
The school health programme also sensitizes the teachers on various health aspects including preventive care practices. Demonstrations and film shows are arranged on personal hygiene, sanitation, balanced diet and various health issues. RASS has also brought out posters, pamphlets and booklets on child health aspects for distribution among the school children.
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Apart from the mobile health clinics, RASS had rural health centers with the entire medical infrastructure in the project locations. The health centers provide health checkups and referral services and in some cases, meet the cost of hospitalization. Apart from the rural health centers RASS established a ten bed hospital, especially for the physically handicapped, at Sahaya Gram.
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Comparatively, urban slum dwellers are more prone to illness than their rural counterparts. RASS realized it and promoted a direct health service delivery through urban health center, which is located in Tirupati town. Those, who are unable to pay for their medical services and have little access to them, will be treated through the center. Most of the slum dwellers are prone to multiple diseases and their knowledge levels of prevention and cure are very limited. RASS has gained a lot of experience in identifying high risk populations for HIV / AIDS in urban slums, especially in high migrant and floating populated urban areas. This unit is being supported by State Government.
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A mobile medical unit under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) is promoted to serve the rural populace in Nindra Mandal, Chittor district of Andhra Pradesh. Through the unit, rural populations are served in the remote habitations on a pre-informed schedule of the month. Health check-ups, referrals, distribution of medicines and health advices are supported through the mobile medical unit.
RASS Mobile health clinics participate in the eye health camps, general health camps, and cardiology camps. For each camp, experts are invited to conduct the surgical referrals. All the expenditure incurred on the camps is met by RASS. Post-operative follow up services are provided to the beneficiaries. In Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh around 25319 students from 216 schools of Kadapa, CK Dinne, Pulivendula and Vempalli mandals were tested. Out of them 633 are found suffering with defective eye sight. Out of them 241 received eye glasses.
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RASS Mobile health clinics participate in the eye health camps, general health camps, and cardiology camps. For each camp, experts are invited to conduct the surgical referrals. All the expenditure incurred on the camps is met by RASS. Post-operative follow up services are provided to the beneficiaries.
In addition, RASS has been regularly conducting exclusive eye camps for the benefit of the rural and inaccessible areas through air conditioned mobile eye hospital. Apart from providing routine medical eye check up, a team of doctors conducts cataract operations, and supplies medicines and eye glasses at free of cost. Some of the activities are :
In Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh around 25319 students from 216 schools of Kadapa, CK Dinne, Pulivendula and Vempalli mandals were tested. Out of them 633 are found suffering with defective eye sight. Out of them 241 received eye glasses after recommendation by the team of Doctors at free of cost.
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The centre aims at providing complete services which are essential for the whole person recovery from Drug addiction. The high prevalence of alcoholism in the rural areas of Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh is a major need behind this establishment. Presently, it is working in Papanaidupet of Chittor district, Andhra Pradesh. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is providing Grant-in-Aid for this programme.
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Child survival and development require multiple inputs which would result in a healthy, mentally and physically well developed personality. For this to happen – nutrition and supportive services are essential. RASS has undertaken several activities in this direction and a result of that was a drastic reduction in the incidence of malnutrition among children below the age of five. The essential credit for this success lies with the staff and the target community working in unison for creating awareness on nutrition and health education in the community
The motivated mothers participated regularly in RASS initiated supplementary nutrition activities, including kitchen gardens. These two factors, accompanied by the medical and health care facilities, community infrastructure creation such as access to safe drinking water, ARI and domiciliary care and management of diarrhoea have had a combined impact on improved nutritional status of children in the operational villages of RASS.
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RASS has taken up the task of providing sanitary facilities through construction of sanitary toilets and open brick lined drainages in selected villages where sanitary conditions are very bad. Another important feature of the sanitation project is the massive campaign that RASS has undertaken in the villages. The beneficiaries were involved in the construction process. The participatory approach that RASS has successfully employed in the sanitation programme has promoted the actual use of these facilities and their up keep.
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With the changing practices of health care and agriculture in rural areas, valuable medicinal plants are also ignored by the rural community over a period of time. As rural communities are also lacking medicinal facilities at their reach and to promote medicinal intake at the family level itself, medicinal plants have been propagated among the rural families. This is undertaken in Chandragiri, Renigunta and Ramachandrapuram mandals of Chittor district. This initiative is supported by National Aromatic and Medicinal Plant Board, Govt., of India.
RASS identified the importance of safe drinking water in health frontier. Many of the rural households lack safe drinking water within their vicinity. RASS, in collaboration with CAPART, under the ARW scheme, dug 400 bore wells in Chittoor and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh. International Organization from West Germany collaborated in this intervention to promote child and community health aspects.
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Housing for the rural poor is one of the biggest challenges in their life time as it requires huge amounts to construct a house. Recognizing this fact, RASS provided low cost houses to the rural poor. A model village was constructed in Dalit village viz., Vikruthamala HW habitation of Yerpedu mandal. Nallamanu kalva in Tirupati rural and Velur Dalit habitation in Pichatur mandal were constructed. RASS collaborated with CAPART and DESWOS of Germany.
With the changing practices of health care and agriculture in rural areas, valuable medicinal plants are also ignored by the rural community over a period of time. As rural communities are also lacking medicinal facilities at their reach and to promote medicinal intake at the family level itself, medicinal plants have been propagated among the rural families. This is undertaken in Chandragiri, Renigunta and Ramachandrapuram mandals of Chittoor district. This initiative is supported by National Aromatic and Medicinal Plant Board, Govt., of India.
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