Main Article Content
Abstract
Health is equallyan important concern, of all human beings, whether living in rural and urban areas or in the big cities in India.On other hand,the health programs & services are not equitably delivered to meet the health needs of all the people, particularly in rural areas. Rural India has been lagging behind due to the multiple causative factors such as poor health infrastructure, facilities & services, improper attention by government health functionaries, and lack of health personnel at public health facilities etc. Simultaneously, it is evident that the public health facilitiesin rural areasare not sufficient to addressthe health problems of people including children.Child mortality is high in India,with higher incidence in rural settings. To provide preventive & promotive health care services to every section of population, especially women & children,a cadre of female Community Health Workers (CHWs) in the form of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) was inducted as a key strategy and an instrument in every village in 2005.They were selected for rendering the grass root level health care services under National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), an umbrella program of Government of India. Theprime objectivewas to reduce Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) among rural population. This paper is based on the role of ASHAsas the key agent for child survival through providingservices at grass root level in rural India.