Nagaland Speakers’ Forum has appealed to the state government to provide monthly salary to the Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), who it said were the pillar and backbone of village health care.
In a press release, the forum’s spokesperson Benathung Kithan stated that ASHAs were working on a par with medical professionals in their fight against Covid-19 risking themselves.
The forum stated that ASHAs besides performing COVID-19 duties were carrying out their regular works such as assisting deliveries, immunization drives, treating basic illness and injury with first Aid, keeping demographic records, sterilization camps, encouraging family planning, improving village sanitation and staffing the PHCs & Health and wellness centres.
The forum, however, said that ASHA workers were ignored when it comes to remuneration, permanent status as government employee and job benefits.
The forum has, therefore, appealed to the state government to make the ASHA workers a permanent government job holder like the Andhra Pradesh, which was paying monthly salary of Rs. 10,000 to ASHAs.