Since July 2007, ARTH has introduced village level pregnancy advisory services. This effort utilises the potential of non-medical persons (ASHAs) to increase awareness of and access to reproductive health services to enable women to better manage their own fertility. The key components of the initiative are:
Village level services through ASHAs and Village Health Workers (VHWs)Pregnancy tests
- Contraceptives including emergency contraception
- Counselling women on safe abortion
- Communication: To gain support for the intervention, video shows, flip books, posters and pamphlets were used to communicate with the panchayat members and community members. This also helped to inform the people about the services being provided by ASHAs.
- Training: 60 ASHAs and VHWs have been trained to provide the above services. They have monthly meetings for continued training and support.