""ANM is an important link in the
public health system. She is the first stair in the staircase of the whole
public health system" said
Satyendar Jain, Honourable Health Minister, Delhi Government on 10th July on
the occasion of the ANM Convention held in Talkatora stadium in New Delhi from
the 10-12th July 2015. The first of its kind, this convention was attended
by the 1500 ANMs (Auxiliary
Nurse- Midwives) from
different parts of the country to discuss their role and career in public
health.
The
Convention was organized by ANSWERS (Academy for Nursing Studies and Women’s
Empowerment Research Studies), in collaboration with Society of Midwives of
India (SOMI), National Alliance for Maternal Health and Human Rights (NAMHHR)
and Human Rights Law Network (HRLN). ANSWERS is a NAMHHR member also.
The
Convention re-iterated the important role played by ANMs who are front-line
public health personnel catering to the needs of the most vulnerable groups in
rural, tribal and remote areas. They are
the single largest health care personnel in the public health system and over
the last seven decades ANMs have worked to enhance public awareness about
health and nutrition and played a vital role in implementing family planning
and immunization programmes.
However
the career of ANMs has not moved forward over the last 50 years and with the
passage of time their growth opportunities have further shrunken. Today, ANMs do not have an independent
identity, management cadre or policy access to promote their career. Hence the goal of the National Convention was
to raise the ANMs’ awareness about their role in peripheral primary health care,
strengthen their collective voice and enhance their professional
accountability.
NAMHHR played
a key role in organizing the ANM Convention and was particularly active with
the media advocacy. NAMHHR organized a press
meet on 11th of June 2015 in the Press Club, Delhi which was attended
by 21 media persons resulting in coverage in 3 local language newspapers.
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