Prosperity of Sahiyas will lead to state development: Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta

Tata Steel hands over 150 e-scooters to East Singhbhum women frontline health workers

Jamshedpur, March 28: State Health Minister Banna Gupta on Monday said that Jharkhand can become a developed state only by prosperity of Sahiya Saathi and ANM Didi (women frontline health workers), who work in rural areas to provide safe and effective health care to village communities. We just can’t thank Sahiya Saathi and ANM Didi enough who have provided health services to people in remote areas in difficult circumstances, added the minister. He was speaking as a chief guest at e-scooters distribution programme organised by Tata Steel Foundation in collaborated with banking giant HSBC at the Police Ground, Sidhgora.

In its final phase, e-scooters were distributed among Sahiyya Sathis (Accredited Social Health Activists or ASHA workers) today to traverse the difficult terrains of the East Singhbhum district and to address the issue of mobility. 150 e-scooters were distributed to address the issues related to prompt assistance to pregnant women and neo-natal babies.

Earlier, 181 e-scooters were distributed on March 13, 2022 for Sahiyya Sathis across Seraikela-Kharsawan while another 234 were distributed on March 20, 2022 at West Singhbhum.

Present on the occasion, were Banna Gupta, Minister for Health, Medical Education, Family Welfare and Disaster Management, Government of Jharkhand, Samir Mohanty, MLA, Bahragora, Sanjeev Sardar, MLA, Potka, Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel and Sourav Roy, Chief, Corporate Social Responsibility, Tata Steel.

Also, present on the occasion were Pradeep Prasad, Deputy Development Commissioner and Dr AK Lal, Civil Surgeon, East Singhbhum and officials from government and Tata Steel Foundation.

Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel said: “We have been working in tandem with the Sahiyya Sathis, ANMs and the state government to implement innovative public health solutions to scale sustainable impact. The electric scooters are a step ahead towards co-creation of public health solutions, which remains a commitment of Tata Steel Foundation. Taking cognizance of the challenges faced by the Sahiyya and ANM Didis in reaching out to expectant women and neonates in need, the e-scooters will ensure a greater reach and faster medical assistance. Inclusion of technology and innovation in resolving the issues of efficiently covering large distances and greater number of cases has prompted the undertaking of this initiative.”

Tata Steel Foundation has collaborated with banking giant HSBC to devise 565 e-scooters to be distributed across these three locations of Seraikela-Kharsawan, West Singhbhum and East Singhbhum. The Sahiyya Sathis are a part of the MANSI programme of the Foundation that is a community-focused public health intervention that addresses rural India’s challenges in accessing quality and affordable health care for mothers and new-born children at household level.

Prior to the distribution, adequate amount of training workshops was arranged and conducted for the Sahiyya Sathis to ensure their safety and driving skills are on point. The initiative is taken after considering the lack of availability of electricity in the respective areas and therefore the e-scooters are devised in a way so that it takes only 15 amp of power for two and a half hours to get fully charged. They also do not require any driving license as it is below the crucial limit of power a vehicle requires to be considered a motor vehicle.

The Sahiyya Sathis have played one of the most fundamental roles in ensuring maternity and neo-natal health during the time of Covid-19 when transportation was almost at a halt. They selflessly have been the face of MANSI in reducing the neonatal deaths in Jharkhand and fortifying the healthcare system to remain prompt.