By TCN News,
Ranchi: The United Milli Forum, a conglomeration of Muslim organizations in Jharkhand, organized a medical camp in Islam Nagar, the largest slum in the state capital of Ranchi. Over 250 residents of the slum attended the camp where they were provided free consultation and medicines.
The first medical camp organised by UMF’s newly trained health workers was successfully conducted last month.
For two continuous days prior to the medical camp patients were screened by the UMF health workers who also prepared their case histories for further examination by doctors from Calcutta and Ranchi.
A surprisingly large number of patients treated at the camp were found to be suffering from hypertension, which doctors attributed to poor quality nutrition and high stress of living in an area with poor infrastructure. Most of the residents of Islam Nagar are extremely poor and the area has a severe problem of sanitation, overflowing sewage drains and uncollected garbage.
Ten UMF health workers, out of the 13 trained so far, participated in the medical camp. Each of them has undergone training for two months at the rural low-cost hospital outside Calcutta in a variety of disciplines from history-taking and identification of common diseases to pathology and basic pharmacology. Fresh batches of students from Jharkhand and also Bihar will be sent throughout 2010 to take part in the training program, run by Shramjiibi Moitri Swasthya Udyog, a non-profit collective of doctors promoting low-cost healthcare.
Some of the trained health workers, based in Ranchi itself, will also do follow up work with the patients who attended the medical camp. There are active plans to set up a counselling center in Islam Nagar where two health workers will be available for consultation three times a week.
Other UMF health workers, mostly from the districts of Sahebganj, Pakur and Jamtada, have started work in rural areas to survey the public health situation, provide counselling and mobilise communities to tackle health problems in a collective manner.
The UMF is also considering a campaign to enrol people Below Poverty Line (BPL) in Jharkhand in the central government’s Rajiv Gandhi Swasthya Bima Yojana, which provides a health insurance cover of upto Rs 30,000 per family. Other work planned includes providing protective measures to bidi workers to help reduce the risk of respiratory diseases, cleaning up village ponds and helping villagers benefit from state and central government schemes related to health, nutrition and employment.
In the first week of March this year a new association of rural medical practitioners will be launched in Sahebganj and Pakur districts to take up their demands with the government and medical regulatory authorities. At the end of March another medical camp and workshop on public health will be held in Gumani area of Sahebganj district.
For further information, contact Obaidullah Chaudhary, United Milli Forum, on 09835344959