ABOUT RAHA
RAHA is a non-government, non-political, non-religious and non-profit making Agency registered as Raigarh Ambikapur Health Association (RAHA) under MP Societies Registration Act 1973. 49 years ago when this region of undivided MP was totally inaccessible RAHA was established in 1969 with a view to providing health care services to the needy people, mostly tribal’s, living in remote and isolated villages of Raigarh, Jashpur and undivided Surguja districts of present Chhattisgarh. But the problems of ill-health, malnutrition, hunger, poverty, ignorance, unawareness, lack of local initiative and leadership are inter-related and for the solution of which an integrated and holistic approach was essential. So, side by side with providing curative care, promotive, preventive and rehabilitative health care services started. RAHA is also actively involved in socio-economic development of people with whom it is working. In 1974, a Belgian Father Charles Van Besouw S.J. saw much greater potential for RAHA, in view of the poverty of the region and primary health care movement of the mid-seventies. Under his leadership RAHA expanded its focus on health and social work, leveraging its network of Rural Health Centre’s (RHCs) across 6 districts of what was then Madhya Pradesh (now Chhattisgarh State), namely Raigarh, Jashpur, Surguja, Balrampur, Surajpur and Korea. The primary objective of RAHA is to provide health care services to needy people mostly tribal’s in the project area. Initially RAHA was engaged in most urgently needed curative health care services and gradually development program and lives close to the isolated communities it serves by a committed network of Rural Health Centers (RHCs) in interior inaccessible parts of the region. RAHA provides primary health care services through RHCs, promotes traditional medicine, runs school health programme, ongoing training for Sister Nurses, ANMs, village animators and VHWs, individualized care for the disabled (Orthopedic and Cerebral Palsy). RAHA trains School Health Guides who gives Health Education in schools. RAHA runs a unique Community Health Protection Scheme (RAHA CHPS). This programme initiated in 1981 has enrolled over 100,000 persons in 2018-19. The premium is in cash Rs.30 or two kilograms of rice per person annually. Each of the major activities of RAHA is managed by a team with a Coordinator. The team gets regular training in their own field of work and this gives them a chance to enhance their potentials and leadership qualities. Over the years the number of RHCs increased. There are now 93 such RHCs. These RHCs are linked upward to three referral hospitals in Ambikapur, Kunkuri and Raigarh and locally to RHCs and vulnerable communities. RAHA is happy that it faced the daunting challenges of providing health protection to tribal groups and poor people of this area since 1981.
The Clinical Establishment Act (CEA), 2010 implemented in Chhattisgarh in 2013 is a concern of RAHA for its RHCs. To provide a doctor in every RAHA RHC 24 x 7 is not possible for RAHA. After initial first aid patients are referred to nearby hospital. Non-communicable Diseases (NCD) - Hypertension and Diabetes cases are screened in villages and referred to hospital and these cases are followed up at home by a team in every RHC.
