Consultant: Bindu Singh

Data theme: Entitlements, Health and Nutrition

Objectives: Improve service availability and quality at Adolescent Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) in the district combined with improving counseling and information dissemination on menstrual hygiene to adolescent girls.

Key Outcomes: This strategic intervention organized several meetings and workshops with adolescent groups in the community, including a visit by the adolescents to the AFHCs with demands for regular and quality service provision. 

The intervention also worked with adolescent girls in 20 villages of two blocks in Chandauli to monitor VHNDs and the report compiled was submitted as a letter, demanding better service delivery at AFHCs and VHNDs. This letter was submitted to district officials like the Chief Medical Officer, Medical Officer In-Charge, the RKSK Nodal Officer as well as at District Health Society meetings. The District Magistrate has made verbal commitments towards improving services. A small room has been allotted for counseling at the AFHCs, and a local NGO has been requested to support with the provision of a voluntary female counselor on a weekly basis.

The intervention also influenced local panchayat election winners to follow up on their commitments on Adolescent Health and prepare a plan of action. The Panchayat has committed to installing an incinerator at the local school. 

The consultant also organised meetings with the media, resulting in several media reports being published at the local level with information about the UDAYA study. 

Process: The meetings and events organised with adolescent groups and the wider community provided information and the subsequent visit to the AFHCs revealed that there were no female counselors, and no room allotted for counseling. 

Alongside, adolescent girls from 20 villages of two blocks in Chandauli collected data on the status of service delivery of Village Health and Nutrition Day (VHNDs) with a specific focus on menstrual hygiene. This community monitoring exercise revealed that there were no available resources to conduct vaccinations, distribution of iron folic tablets or sanitary napkins. They compiled a report with their findings. 

Prior to the recent Panchayat elections, several electoral candidates had made various campaign promises towards better service delivery for adolescent health programs. Post elections, the intervention organised meetings with the candidates who had won. The Panchayat members learnt their role in aiding service delivery and have committed to installing an incinerator at the local school. 

Copies of the UDAYA data, RKSK guidelines and the community report were also submitted to the District Health Society, Medical Officer In-Charge, District Magistrate and the media. The adolescents also regularly visited the AFHCs with the information, to present to the frontline workers engaged in service delivery of the program. At present, the letters have been accepted at the various levels of government departments, and verbal commitment has been made by the DM to ensure improved service delivery. A small room has also been allotted for counseling at the AFHCs, and a local NGO has been requested to support with the provision of a voluntary female counselor on a weekly basis. There has also been significant interest from sections of the media and several reports have been published in local newspapers, highlighting the status of AFHCs in the district, the status of menstrual hygiene at the state and district level, gaps in program implementation and important insights from the UDAYA data