Govt appoints SUMAN volunteers, ASHA workers to launch stir today

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, February 19

Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers are up in arms against the state government over the appointment of Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) volunteers. The ASHA workers have decided to launch an agitation across the state against the move and will be staging protest demonstrations at their respective Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres and submitting memorandums to the Senior Medical Officers from February 20-25.

Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan

The SUMAN volunteers will be working under initiative of the government which focuses on assured delivery of maternal and newborn healthcare services, encompassing wider access to free and quality services, prevent maternal and newborn deaths and provide positive birthing experience.

The ASHA workers are of the view that some of the works assigned to SUMAN volunteers are already being done by them.

An ASHA worker is a community health worker employed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare as a part of India’s National Rural Health Mission and their main focus is to ensure that women undergo ante-natal check-ups, maintain nutrition during pregnancy, institutional delivery, take care of newborns and mothers and ensure vaccination of the child. On the other hand, the SUMAN volunteers will be working under initiative of the government which focuses on assured delivery of maternal and newborn healthcare services, encompassing wider access to free and quality services, prevent maternal and newborn deaths and provide positive birthing experience.

Panchayati Raj Institution representatives, opinion leaders, school teachers, civil society representatives, Self-Help Group members etc can opt to become SUMAN Volunteers.

The president of the ASHA Workers Union, Kirandeep Kaur, said that they are launching this agitation because central government has asked the state government to register SUMAN volunteers.

“Appointment of SUMAN volunteers is a direct attack on us. We are working with the department since 2008 and have worked hard since then. Even during Covid-19 we worked without caring about our lives,” said Kiran.

“We have been asking the government to give us a fixed salary and regularise our jobs. Instead of accepting our demands, the government has appointed a third party for carrying out the work we have been doing. We will intensify our struggle if our demands are not met by February 25,” she added.

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