Guwahati, July 31: Sadou Asom Asha Karmi Santha, an organisation of ASHA workers in the state, staged a demonstration at Dighalipukhuri here today to demand additional honorarium.
ASHAs or accredited social health activists are community health workers instituted by the Union ministry of health and family welfare as part of the National Health Mission (NHM).
Recruited in the state in 2005, they work on the basis of incentives paid for different health activities related to women and child care.
They also get an honorarium of Rs 1,000 from the Centre and are now demanding an equal amount from the state government.
The organisation has been holding protests for payment of an additional honorarium of Rs 1,000 from the state government effective from 2013.
In March, the state government had finalised the payment of the honorarium but on July 10, they were asked to submit their demand again.
Following this request by the state government, the workers threatened to cease work from tomorrow till the government pays them the pending amount in full.
Thousands of ASHAs from different parts of the state gathered at Dighalipukhuri, throwing traffic in and around the area out of gear.
The ASHA workers have been in the forefront of the fight against infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternity mortality rate (MMR) in the state which has the dubious distinction of having the worst rates in the country.
Assam had for the 10th successive year recorded the highest maternal deaths in the country.
According to the sample registration system (SRS) of July 2011-13, the MMR in Assam is 300 per 1 lakh live births. The corresponding national number is 167 per 1 lakh. These findings are part of the National Family Health Survey-4 of 2015-2016.
The ASHA workers are on duty round the clock.
Their contribution to the health scene in the villages, each having a minimum of one worker, is considerable and their uniform of white sari with blue border inspires confidence in the minds of women with health issues in areas without doctors.
