The National Health Mission (NHM) has been launched to address the health care needs of the country.
A tripartite collaborative Project for the training and certification of ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) was undertaken by NIOS in collaboration with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) and National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC).
India launched the National Health Mission in 2005 to address the health care needs of the rural and urban population. The Mission introduced Community Health Worker -the ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) as its core component to address health care needs of the people, particularly the rural population. This represents one of the cornerstones of NRHM’s strategy to address the millennium Development Goals (MDG) on health related indicators. The ASHA is a trained woman health activist, who is selected from the community and is accountable to it. The responsibility of ASHAs is not only limited to provide basic health care vis- a vis Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, Vaccination, Nutrition etc., but also on gender equality, social determinants of health and preparation of the village health plan. The ASHA is required to work as a bridge between the community and the public health system.
