Lucknow: The Principal Secretary for Medical and Health, Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma, emphasized that health awareness should begin at home and not at hospitals, with community radio playing a pivotal role in this mission. Addressing representatives of 33 community radio stations from various districts, he urged them to actively engage in creating awareness about newly emerging diseases and dispelling long-standing misconceptions. Community radio, as a hyperlocal medium, has the power to reach its audience in their native language, delivering not just entertainment but also essential information.
Role of Community Radio in Health Awareness
The two-day workshop, organized in collaboration with Smart, an organization supporting community radio sustainability, highlighted the need for such stations to address local issues and promote community participation in development. Partha Sarathi Sen Sharma underlined that community radio stations should focus on health-related topics like early marriage prevention, family planning, vaccination, Ayushman Bharat Yojana, institutional delivery, menstrual hygiene, and nutrition. Observing these themes on special days could help normalize these discussions and encourage behavioral change.
He added that if Ayushman Arogya Mandirs and Community Health Centers are fully operational with community participation, the burden on district hospitals and medical colleges could be significantly reduced.
Boosting Ayushman Bharat Yojana Outreach
Sangeeta Singh, CEO of the State Agency for Comprehensive Health and Integrated Services (SACHIS), shed light on the Ayushman Bharat Yojana, under which 5 crore Ayushman cards have already been issued in Uttar Pradesh. The scheme provides free treatment for 26 major diseases in over 5,800 listed government and private hospitals. Singh urged community radio to guide citizens on creating Ayushman cards themselves using the Ayushman app, thereby avoiding unnecessary expenses on middlemen. She also suggested involving youth to assist the elderly in this process.
Digital Health Records Through Abha IDs
Dr. Mohit Singh, Joint Director of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), shared the progress of the initiative in digitizing health records. More than 12.5 crore Abha IDs have been created in Uttar Pradesh, covering over 50% of the population, with Maharashtra trailing in second place. With 61,075 hospitals registered under ABDM, health records for 5.27 crore people have been digitized. He encouraged community radio stations to educate their audiences about the benefits of creating Abha IDs.
Harnessing Community Radio for Local Impact
Pooja Sehgal from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation highlighted the untapped potential of community radio as a hyperlocal medium to deliver contextually relevant health messages. Such messages could resonate deeply with local communities and bridge gaps in healthcare awareness. Similarly, Archana Kapoor, Director of Smart, noted that apart from disseminating health-related information, community radio can inform the government about challenges citizens face in accessing healthcare services.
The workshop included in-depth discussions on critical health topics like tuberculosis, filariasis, communicable diseases, and nutrition, facilitated by experts and representatives from various health organizations.
This initiative underlines the importance of community radio in transforming healthcare outreach and ensuring inclusive communication to address local needs effectively. Representatives of UPTSU, CFAR, CASBC GHS, PATH were present on this occasion.
