Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA)
- The ASHA program was launched in 2005-06 as part of the National Rural Health Mission, initially in rural areas.
- The ASHA program was introduced as a key component of the community process intervention and now it has emerged as the largest community health worker program in the world and is considered a critical contribution to enabling people’s participation in health.
- Functions:
- ASHA is a community-level worker whose role is to function as a health care facilitator, and a service provider and to generate awareness on health issues.
- Besides delivering key services to maternal and child health and family planning, they also render important services under the National Disease Control Programme.
- ASHA workers, all women, serve populations of approximately 1,000 in rural areas and 2,000 in urban settings, with room for local adjustments.