Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam – National Health Mission

Mahila Arockia Samiti Volunteers under National Health Mission

National Health Mission has been implementing Population Based Screening (PBS) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Programme through Community Health Professionals and Women Health Volunteers (WHV). The scheme, termed as Makkalai Thedi Maruthuvam, has been jointly implemented by National Urban Health Mission (NUHM) and Tamil Nadu Urban Livelihoods Mission (TNULM) in slums, vulnerable pockets, and areas with economically weaker households in urban areas across Tamil Nadu.

As of 15.9.2022, 2,570 Women Health Volunteers are selected from TNULM SHG member networks and are pivotal to the implementation of the scheme in the urban areas of the state, covering 15 Corporations and 120 Municipalities.

TNULM has been anchoring the scheme by undertaking the following activities:

  1. District Mission Management Unit of TNULM has been responsible for identification of SHG members who can be eligible as Women Health volunteers (WHV)
  2. Tamil Nadu Urban Livelihoods Mission is responsible for collecting the monthly activity record from the medical team and to process and ensure the timely release of honorarium and incentives to Women Health volunteers (WHV)
  3. The Mission is responsible for collecting the performance appraisal of WHV and for identifying the suitable replacement for filling vacancies arising due to non- performance and attrition.
Outcome: In the last 9 months, between October 2021 and September 2022, totally, 1,04,21,442 citizens have availed the benefit of health screening services through TNULM SHG Women Health Volunteers. Of the above, 50,05,806 members were screened for hypertension and 38,03,555 members were screened for diabetes mellitus, indicating the tapping of massive potential of the NULM SHG network.