There is a massive shortage of medical staff, infrastructure and last mile connectivity in rural areas. 78% doctors cater to urban India which is around 30% of the population.

Why this area?:

To make everyday well-beingreal for the marginalised, we examine and address systemic bottlenecks to strengthen health systems. Health Systems Strengthening (HSS) is critical to prevent, detect, and respond to epidemics and promote the well-being of people. Improving efficiencies of core HSS functions – health workforce, health finance, health governance, health information, medical products, vaccines and technologies, and service delivery – is vital to ensure sustained health outcomes for the marginalised.

Swasti focuses  on working with Health Systems at the last mile, leaping inward from Community Systems, onto partnering with families and individuals,  helping them own their health choices for good. We care about access to essential health services for underserved, marginalised, and high-priority groups.

What we have done:

We provide a wide range of strategic support to Health Departments, Civil Society Organisations, and Development Partners on strategic planning, functional reviews, programme reviews, policy development, and resource mobilisation.

Our innovations have strengthened health workforce-related policies and practices across state and non-state actors. The persistent challenges of the health workforce, led us to believe that HRH think-tanks, an HR Cell at the state level, that would help design and implement HR Policies and reforms at the level of health departments, was the way to go. We also realised that there was much to be learned from other sectors which run health systems, including those in the public sector, like the Ministries of Railways, Defence, and Labour, from where lessons and best practices would be adopted by the Ministry and State Departments of Health. We were fortunate to have a three year investment into this innovative programme from the European Union.

Our work has put the focus on service delivery to emphasise workforce-related challenges and initiatives.

State Departments of Health in Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh, have set up the HR Cell, initiated reforms, and adopted new management practices, to transform the way to recruit, motivate employees, and manage performance. The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, passed a government order on instituting an HRH think tank, which, as we know, is currently active. Through our design, subsequent resource mobilisation, and capacity building, the programmes of HIV, TB, and Health Systems Strengthening in Maldives, India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Lao PDR, have all impacted the lives of the affected communities.