UPCMP Process Document_Final-1-min

6
COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION IS
A CAPACITY BUILDING PROCESS
THROUGH WHICH COMMUNITY
MEMBERS, GROUPS AND
ORGANIZATIONS PLAN, CARRY
OUT AND EVALUATE ACTIVITIES
IN A PARTICIPATORY, SUSTAINED
WAY TO IMPROVE THEIR HEALTH
AND OTHER CONDITIONS, EITHER
THROUGH THEIR OWN INITIATIVE
OR STIMULATED BY OTHERS 7 .
Scope for Community Mobilization
Most efforts to improve maternal and newborn health have focused on
strengthening service delivery. And while improving access to, and quality
of, important health services are essential, reducing maternal and newborn
deaths also requires action at the community level. For this reason,
Community Mobilization is recognized as a key intervention in the Global
consensus on Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (RMNCH).
Community Mobilization differs from, and can be more effective than, health
education, as it aims to empower communities to change their situation. This
involves an investment in people’s innate potential to become leaders, make
decisions and take coordinated action to resolve health issues.
Importance of Self-Help Groups
In many rural communities in India, women have very few opportunities
to improve their health or that of their families. Even where local health
committees exist, they are often dominated by community leaders or men,
which can mean critical health issues affecting women and children falling
to the wayside. Self-Help Groups (SHGs) provide the needed informal space
to build on women’s interest in improving the health of their families and also
have the capability of reaching the poorest and most marginalized women.
Besides income benefits from small savings, SHGs encourage an exchange
of ideas and information to identify problems and innovate as a collective to
find solutions for overcoming economic, social and cultural barriers.