Deepam Educational Society for Health receives Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation g

[Guest guest]

1.11.2001

Deepam Educational Society for Health receives Bill & Melinda Gates

Foundation grant for initiative in India

ALWARPET, Chennai, India -- Deepam Educational Society for Health

(DESH), a non-governmental organization that promotes health

awareness, has received a US$1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda

Gates Foundation to help fund the Reproductive and Child Health

Program that will reach more than 100,000 families, 104 workplaces

and 260 schools in six cities in India.

The three-year program will increase awareness of and action around

such health concerns as reproductive tract infections, cervical

cancer and HIV/AIDS. The World Health Organization estimates that

between 8 and 10 million men, women and children in Asia will have

been infected with HIV, with India and Thailand reporting the largest

number of cases.

" There are more than 100 million people living in India's urban

slums -- two-thirds of whom are children, youth and women who are

less literate, lack basic knowledge of safe health practices and have

little or no access to health information or services, " said DESH

Executive Director, Dr. Saraswathi Sankaran.

" Women in India need to be empowered to take control of their health

and that of their children, " Sankaran added. Hence DESH's programs

are planned in three phases: information and awareness; empowerment

with accountability; and collective, community action. Sankaran

explained that the expected outcome of DESH projects would be that

some informed and empowered persons form powerful action groups and

collectively work for community welfare in a sustained manner.

The DESH Reproductive and Child Health Program will be directly

implemented by DESH in Chennai as a demonstration unit and by 50

community-based non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in and around

five cities, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and

Coimbatore. According to Sankaran, a DESH sample survey conducted

among women living in two out of the three slum settlements selected

for this project in Chennai showed:

- 48 percent did not know the effects of too many pregnancies,

- 38 percent did not have any knowledge of family planning methods,

- Only 3 percent used condoms,

- 36 percent do not administer Oral Rehydration Salt (ORS) if the

child has diarrhea, and

- 69 percent did not know about self-examinations for breast cancer.

DESH, which is a national model for other health programs, uses

participatory methods such as skits, role-plays, brainstorming

sessions, educational materials like flip charts and case studies to

create awareness and stimulate collective/community action on

sensitive health topics. " Our aim is to foster the strength inherent

in all communities to convert knowledge into action, " said Sankaran.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving

people's lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the

global community. Led by Bill Gates' father, H. Gates, Sr.,

and Patty Stonesifer, the Seattle-based foundation has an asset base

of $21 billion. For complete information, visit

www.gatesfoundation.org.

Contact:

Saraswathi Sankaran, Ph.D., Executive Director

Deepam Educational Society for Health (DESH)

Phone: 91.44.4995580.

Durgan

APCO Worldwide

Phone: 206.239.0155, E-mail: sdurgan@...

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