Health Update

We are implementing a new health program to increase knowledge and awareness about the importance of routine immunization in children. We are specifically targeting pregnant women, newborns and children under the age of five. We hope to also decrease infant mortality rates, decrease death rates of mothers during pregnancy, and improve access to immunization programs. The team of coordinators, supervisors, volunteers and health workers consists of 264 people. There are approximately 240,000 beneficiaries of this program. This is a year long program so I will be involved with the initial stages. I am really excited because the next month and a half will be very busy with staff trainings and visits to villages to monitor and ensure the success of the interventions. The staff meeting today was just with the district coordinators and supervisors (about 20 staff).

I have also been working on finishing the past project proposal for the repair of the dispensary in a nearby village named Altapur. The roof is about to collapse, and because this is the location offering health services and distributing medicines and other treatments to the community, it is extremely important to repair. It has not only become an unsanitary environment, but it is also causing injuries and additional health risks.

A few days ago we had a deadline for a grant proposal for HIV Reduction. We sent it to the Clinton Foundation in hopes of getting approval (and funding) for the program. We were on a time crunch so we split up the project into three parts and each worked like crazy for the entire day. We had to provide all kinds of information and data about West Bengal as well as the program plan and budget. It ended up to be 14 pages long and we were quite proud to finish it.