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The Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) in Bangalore, also known to most of its contacts and associates as just CHC-Bangalore has reached its Silver Jubilee year in December 2008 (inception: January 1984). CHC, while continuing its open-ended catalyst support for community health action at many levels is also now evolving a Centre for Public Health and Equity, which will be a learning center in the new social paradigm with a focus on health equity, social determinants, the rights perspective in health and public health and primary health care oriented health system development. CHC’s has done a significant contribution of bringing and keeping together nearly five generations of health activists and researchers from the sixties to the present generation, it also narrates the thrusts and themes of different phases in the comunity health journey.
Phase I : 1984-1989CHC was started as a study-reflection-action experiment in Karnataka, when Dr. Ravi and Dr.Thelma Narayan,K. Gopinathan and Mr. Krishna Chakravarthy moved beyond the Department of Community Medicine of St. John’s Medical College to co-initiate this small center and to work with NGOs and networks in community health beyond the bio-medical framework. They were soon joined by others over the first few months and years.
This phase was a five year experimental phase when the CHC experiment was linked to the Centre for Non Formal and Continuing Education at Ashirvad, an NGO and had a small team of three ‘wise men’ – Dr. C.M. Francis (Retired Dean of St. John’s Medical College), late Prof. George Joseph (Retired Professor & Head of Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS) and Fr. Claude D’Souza (Social Educator and activist) who advised it informally.
The highlight of this phase was the deep involvement with the medico friend circle (mfc) (convenor, editor/publisher of mfc bulletin and national office); the Bhopal disaster; and the increasing involvement as community health resource group for members of networks, such as The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI), Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI) and its state VHAs, Christian Medical Association of India (CMAI), Asian Community Health Action Network (ACHAN) and other networks. During the middle of this six year phase the 4 member team of CHC took a year’s break (1986-87) for higher studies.
The ‘Red Book’ with the overview and axioms of community health in India; the precursor concept of a ‘People’s health movement for India’; and the concept of People’s participation in the development planning (note to Planning Commission) emerged during this phase.
A review of the first five years was undertaken and the most important recommendation at this review was to register as an independent autonomous society with six objectives building on the work of CHC (1984-89). Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action (SOCHARA) was then registered.
Phase II : 1989 – 1993This phase was the first four years of SOCHARA, the registered society with CHC as its functional unit. It was a phase of intense growth and development in activities around the six objectives of the society:
- to create awareness in community health in all sectors
- to support community health action through voluntary as well as government initiative
- to undertake research in community health policy issues
- to evolve educational strategies in community health and development
- to dialogue with health planners and implementers to enable the formulation and implementation of community oriented health policies
- to establish library and documentation unit.
CHC’s work with the health networks evolved and in addition involvement with non health networks like All India People’s Sciences Network (AIPSN), women’s networks, environmental groups and others also began. CHC facilitated broader networking by bringing together the community health trainers in these networks to evolve common perspectives and action.
Research studies included the CHAI Golden Jubilee Evaluation Study including the Delphi prediction of emerging health trends in India and the medical education studies on community orientation and social relevance including the graduate feedback study. This was followed by suitable policy, advocacy and action.
The team was expanded with the concept of CHC associates and the greater involvement of CHC society members. The library and documentation center became public and occasionally CHC newsletters were produced.
Phase III : 1994 – 1997As CHC reached the 10tth year after the start of the experiment (1984-1993) a third phase was evolved as the founding leadership took a break from CHC to allow space for alternative leadership. During this phase, the main thrust was expanding on community health training programme to non-health groups and to field based workers in four languages – Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam. It was a phase to test out the relevance of our training strategies to more grass roots processes and to support trainees closer to the communities. CHC team members also got linked to community health initiatives facilitated by NGOs – on a more continuous basis as resource persons.
A comprehensive review of 14 years of CHC to take stock of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats was undertaken in 1998. This review included CHC team facilitating a 14 year report on training, research and management dimensions and a SWOT analysis. A set of 15 external reviewers who represented senior peers (above 50), equal peers (35-50) and younger activists (25-30) in equal numbers reviewed the reports and made recommendations to CHC mainly to explore two options:
a) community health national coalition for collective action and advocacy
b) centre for community health to promote policy and research on health
Phase IV (1998-2005) The founding members once again started taking a pro-active role to coordinate the next phase of CHC and to operationalise the two mandates of the review. CHC supported the evolution of International Poverty and Health Network and later got very deeply involved in mobilizing for the national and global People’s Health Assemblies in December 2000, which led to the evolution of People’s Health Movement and Charters at national and global level.
CHC has been deeply involved with PHM India (JSA) at national and regional levels all these years. CHC had the unique experience of being invited to host the global secretariat of the PHM from 2003 -2006 with Ravi Narayan as the coordinator of the global People’s Health Movement secretariat.
Simultaneously, CHC was involved with policy, action and advocacy in Karnataka state with intense involvement and follow up on all these processes.
- Karnataka State Health Task Force
- Karnataka Integrated Health Policy
- Karnataka Health Nutrition and Population Project
Later CHC was involved with the Orissa State Health Policy and policy studies of the Jan Swasthya Rakshak (JSR) Scheme in Madhya Pradesh and Mitanin as well as the State Health Resource Centre (SHRC) in Chhattisgarh. Apart from this, CHC team members were involved in various national commissions and task forces including Population Commission, National Rural Health Mission, Planning Commission, Women’s Commission and ICMR related initiatives.
CHC strengthened the public health dimension of its work by encouraging team members to be involved in community health action in the areas of Malaria, Dengue, Tuberculosis, Women’s Health, Urban Health, Substance Abuse including Alcohol and Tobacco, and Life Skill Education.
In 2003, CHC initiated the Community Health Fellowship Scheme supported by Sir Ratan Tata Trust – Mumbai, which has provided 23 young medical and social science graduates with field experiences and perspectives before getting involved in public health / community health as career options. An additional 17 young graduates underwent the learning process on a voluntary basis, while several others did placements at CHC as part of their post-graduate training.
An important feature of this phase was the expansion of the CHC – SOCHARA membership with a larger number of newer and younger health professionals. There was increasing involvement of SOCHARA members in day-to-day activities of CHC as well as in governance. End of this phase was marked by a comprehensive interactive participatory review of CHC objectives, experience and organisational challenges with recommendations for various options in the next phase of evolution.
Phase V (2006 onwards) to the Silver JubileeThis new phase which began from January 2006 has followed the review and consists of some changes with key evolving initiatives. A new coordinator / secretary took over and is leading the CHC team into the next phase from 15th July 2006. Premdas brings his experience with social movements and dalit and women empowerment, to add a fresh dimension to CHC and continue all its ongoing initiatives. The team will now consist of many younger professionals and activists. The new-interdisciplinary team consists of E.Premdas (Advocate and Social Scientist), Dr.Rakhal (Community Medicine field and Research in Environmental Health). Dr.Sukanya (Community Medicine field and Occupational Health issues), Sudhamani (Social Science and Research), Dr.Vinay (Masters in Publich Health), Ameer Khan (Social Science), Shalini (Social Science).
The Society had requested one of the senior member (Thelma Narayan) to work on the feasibility of a ‘Centre for Public Health and Equity (CPHE)’ as a new functional unit of SOCHARA – to provide learning experiences and consultations of various kinds through an organised and accredited process, supported by a core faculty team and visiting faculty. This will not replace CHC but be additional to it. Some policy processes and involvement in Task Forces and expert groups will continue. The significance of this transition is that the co-initiators and senior SOCHARA members will address policy and main stream education issues even as a new generation of professionals and health activities take over CHC and continue its activities, exploring new dimension and challenges in the year ahead, thus establishing a continuity and sustainability of the CHC process.
The Silver Jubilee – 2008-2009CHC has now reached its silver jubilee year (2008-2009). While CHC team has begun a new journey into the right to health movement, the CPHE is an other expression of an active engagement to introduce the alternative paradigm of policy and education into the main stream. A comprehensive documentation of these 25 years has also begun which will soon result in alternative learning modules on the CHC website and perhaps a concise text book of community health in the alternative paradigm (a sort of alternative “Park”). This will be primarily for public health courses, and will evolve gradually in the next few years. The alternative learning centre and the text book would also be a symbolic end of the study-reflection-action-experiment that began in January 1984 in the quest of an alternative paradigm and a people’s health movement.
The most significant development in the last 25 years has been the continuous support and encouragement, inspiration and solidarity that CHC has experienced from all Society members, CHC associates, fulltime and part time team members, fellows and friends, all these years (too many to enumerate!). Without their cooperation and enthusiastic involvement, CHC could not have achieved, what it did all these years.
The Silver Jubilee event will celebrate this commitment to community health and community building through a cultural celebration, a health film show, a health exhibition, and a public celebration at which as many member of CHC/ SOCHARA family, will gather While thanking all of them, we hope that they all will continue to support CHC as it moves forward with new directions and with a new team into the next 25 years!
The Co-initiators (1984) :
Dr. Ravi Narayan,
Dr.Thelma Narayan,
Mr.K.Gopinathan,
Mr.Krishna Chakravarthy
Co-ordinators (1984-2008):
Dr. Ravi Narayan 1984-1993
Dr. Shiradi Prasad Tekur 1994-1997
Dr.Thelma Narayan 1998-2006
Mr.E.Premdas present The present team (2008) of CHC (Community Health Cell)
Mr. E. Premdas - Coordinator –CHC / Secretary – SOCHARA
Dr. R. Sukanya - Research & Training Associate
Ms. Sudhamani. N - Field Training Coordinator
Mr. Victor Fernandes - Administrative Officer
Mr. H. R. Mahadeva Swamy - Library & Information Assistant
Ms. Maria Dorothy Stella - Secretarial cum Admin Assistant
Mr. C. James - Office cum Media Assistant
Ms. B. Pushpalatha - Secretarial Assistant
Mr. Amarnath Sindhia - Assistant Accountant
Mr. Hariprasad Ojha - Office assistant
Ms. Kamalamma - Office helper
CHC team members in Tamilnadu: Dr. Rakhal Gaitonde - Training & Research Associate
Mr. Ameer Khan - Training & Networking officer
Ms.Shalini Aravindan – Training cum Research Assistant
CPHE (Centre for Public Health and Equity)
Dr. Thelma Narayan – Coordinator CPHE & Public Health Consultant
Dr. Ravi Narayan - Community Health Advisor
Dr. Deepak Kumaraswamy-- Training and Research Assistant
Mr. Juned Kamal- Training and Research Assistant
Mr. Mathew Alex - Accounts cum Secretarial Assistant
Mr. Joseph Anthoniappa - Office cum Maintenance Assistant SOCHARA (Society for Community Health Awareness, Research and Action) Members 2008Executive Committee Members
Dr. Mohan K. Isaac (President)
Fr. Claude D’Souza ( Vice-President)
Dr. H. Sudarshan (Treasurer)
Mr. E. Premdas (Secretary)
Dr. Sr. Aquinas
Dr. Ravi D’Souza
Dr. Thelma Narayan
Dr. M. K. Vasundhra
Other Members
Dr. C. M. Francis
Dr. Ravi Narayan
Dr. Shirdi Prasad Tekur
Dr. Sunil Kaul
Ms. Padmasini Asuri
Dr. Pankaj Mehta
Dr. A. S. Mohammed
Dr. B. S. Paresh Kumar
Dr. Denis Xavier
Ms. Valli Seshan
Mr. K. Gopinathan
Dr. K. Ravi Kumar
Dr. Madhukar Pai
Dr. Mani Kalliath
Dr. N. Devadasan
Dr. Neela Patel
Honorary Members
Fr. John Vattamattom
Dr. D. K. Srinivasa
Mr. A. Arumugham |
CHC Silver Jubilee 