Towards late eighties and early nineties some programme for implementation with the method of participatory approach as a tool to improve the quality of life deserves special mention. Such alternative approach marked a distinct departure from the earlier and traditional concept of top down planning and administration. CUDP - III, IPP - VIII (both having scientific, systematic and logistic health components within it) are some of such programme implemented through participatory approach.

The two specific objectives of the IPP - VIII are:

• Improvement in maternal and child health.
• To reduce fertility amongst the target population.

The background for spelling out these objectives are:

• Maternal and Child mortality rates in this Country are relatively high;
• Higher prevalence rates of various diseases amongst pregnant and lactating mothers, infants and children;
• Wide spread malnutrition among the Urban poor;
• Need for controlling the growth of population by reducing the fertility among the target population.

Strategies

To achieve the above objectives strategies pursued are :

1. To cover the target population mainly with provision of preventive health programme and family welfare service in a manner that these become easily accessible to them;
2. The focus has been on preventive health care and also on non-formal women education and entrepreneurship development programme for the women;
3. Approach to delivering the services is through involvement of the local community. The Local Bodies i.e. the Municipalities are responsible to develop the programme, implement, monitor and evaluate it.

Aims of the Project :

• Creating and promoting health awareness and consciousness;
• Improving the availability and quality of health care and Family Welfare Services;
• Ensure adequate training programme of all categories of personal involved in the programme;
• Wide spread media support in all activities of the programme;
• Continuous monitoring and evaluation of project activities at every stage.

There are 4 nos. HAUs in our Municipal area :

INDIA POPULATION PROJECT - VIII

KAMARHATI  MUNICIPALITY Project is concentualized to -

1. Reduce Maternal morbility and mortality
2. Increase child survival to ensure gender equality
3. Provide quality of services relating to different components of R.C.H. Programme.

Duration of the Programme -

IPP-VIII : 1993 - 1994 to June 2001 & 2002 under W.H.O. programme since then under West Bengal Government aided Programme through Municipal Affairs Department, Governemtn of West Bengal.

Population Coverage-1.38 lakhs (mainly BPL Group)

Infrastructure of IPP-VIII, Kamarhati.

• Sub-centre (covering 10,000 population)
• Block (1 Block on 1000 population)
• HHW (200 families of 1000 population)
• FTS (5 Blocks of 5,000 population)
• STS - In-charge of HAU (7 Sub-centres of 35,000 population)
• PTMO - 2 Part Time Medical Officers will responsible for Clinic
• AHO - Administrative Head of HAU, IPP-VIII only

Basic Objectives :

A. Preventative :

B. Curative :

• Health education for generation and promotion of health nutrition awareness for mother and child
• Preventative service Immunization of Children against 6 killer dieases under 1 year age including ‘0’ Zero  dose oral O.P.V. of new born baby (if available) and Immunization of pregnant women with T.T. (one Immunization per month)
• Improvement of environment sanitation and communicable dieses control
• M.C.H. services including family welafre for acceptance of small family Norm.
• General Clinic (once/week/Sub-Centre)
• Specialized Clinic for Hypertensive & Diabetic Clinic (once/week/Sub-Centre)

But HHWs also provide medicines to their beneficiaries i.e. Septran, Paracitamol, Metronidazole, ORS etc at the earlier stage of disease

Involvement of National Programme :

1. National Pulse Polio Immunization Programme
2. National Tuberculosis Control Programme (DOTS)
3. STD/AIDS Control Programme organised by Govt. of India and the West Bengal Government through KUSP Project.