Fact finding on NRHM Implementation in Tehri District, Uttrakhand

Post Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Uttarakhand became an Indian State in 2000 and is home to 10,116,752 people. The State comprises three distinct geographical regions, namely the high mountains, the middle hills, and the foothills of the Himalayas. In addition to the mountainous terrain, the state is heavily forested. The State is split into two regions, Garhwal division and Kumaun division, which are further broken down into thirteen districts. The remoteness of hill villages, terrible road conditions, and frequent landslides in Uttarakhand make delivering health care services within the State problematic. The State is equipped with 18 District Hospitals, 19 sub-District Hospitals, 55 Community Health Centres (CHCs), 239 Primary Health Centres (PHCs), 1,765 sub-centres, and 17 mobile medical units

Tehri District is designated as a middle hills region and has a population of 604,608 people (7.1% of Uttarakhand’s total population). The vast majority of the District’s population lives in small villages consisting of less than 500 people, with only 0.3% of the District population living in areas with a population of over 2,000 people. The difficult terrain in Uttarakhand, and in Tehri District in particular, contributes to the District’s lower than average health indicators. For example, there are low percentages of institutional births (25.1%) and even lower numbers of assisted deliveries at home (4.3% in urban areas and 2.7% in rural areas).