Model District, Reproductive and Child Health Project (MDRCHP)

European Commission – Sector Investment Programme (EC – SIP)

The Government of India and the European Commission jointly decided to implement the Model Reproductive and Child Health Programme in Pune district. Lokmanya Medical foundation implemented MDRCH programme in 8 urban slums and 10,000 Migratory Population of Pimpri-Chinchwad Industrial Township. The Foundation lays a special emphasis on the promotion of maternal and child health.


The MDRCH programme lays a greater stress on improving the coverage and quality of the services provided under the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme and to ensure effective implementation of the additional components as envisaged with R.C.H. Programme through life cycle approach.


The life cycle approach for implementing RCH Programmes is given below

  • Child Survival and Safe Motherhood programme
  • Women Development / empowerment / equity
  • Sex discrimination/ gender equality
  • Male participation and responsibility
  • Adolescent health and adolescent health education
  • RTI / STI and AIDS
  • Education especially of the girls
  • Forty plus care.


The main beneficiaries of the programme are less privileged children, adolescents Girls and women in the community. Approximately 35,000 families are being benefited from these RCH programmes. Along with the RCH programme, Community Health Centres were established in the community.

Besides general health check ups it acts as an information dissemination centre also which focuses on issues which are in high prevalence in the community and also has regular awareness camps on issues like adolescents health, Gender Sensitisation, gender equality, Early Marriage and Marriageable age and HIV/AIDS & STD/STI amongst those who belong to high risk group in the community.

Field Operational Research Activities and Strategies :

  1. Demand generation through community awareness.
  2. Providing health education on 6 demand generation.
  3. To conduct few special studies to evaluate the changing trends and impact in the community.
  4. Training Parivartaks and community based organisations.

Established Coordination Committee


For the providing improved quality services and monitoring of the MDRCH programme in the project area a Block Coordination committee and zonal committee were established. under the chairmanship of Commissioner PCMC and Dr. G. A. Panse, Sr. Consultant, Nodal Agency, KEMHRC, Dr. V. G. Vaidya, Managing

Trustee, LMF, Dr. R. R. Iyer, Medical Director, PCMC, Dr. (Mrs.) Kamal Yadav, Women Medical Officer, PCMC representative form ICDS Department/ Corporators / PCMC various department/ Education Department / Rotary club, Karve Institute/Swadhar/ FRCH/University of Pune / IEC Bureau / Family Planning Department and various Hospitals were the other members of the coordination committee. Regular meetings were held for proper coordination of quality services


IEC Materials Developed


In order to disseminate information about the components of RCH, create awareness and to bring about the behavioral change among the community various means of IEC material were used.

  • Booklets/ Pamphlets on MCH ,HIV/AIDS, Adolescent health and 40+ care were developed for free distribution
  • Propagation of RCH programme during the Ganesh festival and Navratra festival a18 minutes Audio Cassette on 6 Demand Generation “Sukhache Kawadse” was developed and used.
  • Programme on six demand generation was aired through ALL INDIA RADIO in the Programme : Maze Ghar Maze Shet, Broadcasting Time : 07.15 to 08.00 pm every Saturday from 2nd July to 13th August 2005
  • Posters, Stickers, handbills6 demand generation stickers were pasted in 118 PCMT buses and local trains during April 2005

MDRCH Sensitisation Workshop


Sensitization and orientation program were organised for the ANM PCMC Hospitals, ICDS Workers, Aganwadis sevikas, teachers, supervisors and Private Practitioners of the project area to make them aware about the MDRCH programme and their role in implementing this project in PCMC.

Parivartaks Training


Training programmes were conducted for 1826 parivartaks. Parivartaks were trained in Household planning area mapping and on six demand generation activities. Total beneficiaries of the areas (Parivartak and CBOs) were 2428.
To promote statutory birth & marriage registration, during all the adolescent health, ANC education & women empowerment this issue was apprised to the parivartaks.

Household Planning


For Area Mapping, Dissemination of information on six demand generation & Inter- co-ordination with PCMC, ICDS, Health committee was done through a specially designed self sticking Stickers pasted on the doors of the beneficiary. The Objective of the Household planning was Identification and documenting the beneficiaries, Registration Pregnant and Lactating women & providing Follow -up medical Services & community oriented health Awareness to the slum and migratory population of project area covering 6000 households. This was implemented by parivartak, who were responsible for 10-15 families in their neighborhood for Identification and registration, pasting stickers, dissemination of information; follow-up etc. 186 parivartaks were trained and involved in this activity.

Family Life Education


  • Regular Health Education classes were conducted for imparting family life education and sex education to adolescent girls and boys. Total 1862 school going and 510 drop out adolescent girls and boys were identified and listed.
  • Hb testing of 74 adolescent girls of the project area was conducted in coordination with PCMC referral Hospital.
  • Lectures on Nutrition and healthy food was given to the Parivartaks in all the Project area & even competition on nutritional

ANC Education


Women Health programmes were conducted encompassing the components of Pre natal care ,early registration of ANC registration within 16 weeks, Post natal care nutrition, immunization ,birth registration, institutional deliveries and child care by slide sets ,lectures and group discussion. In total 333 women were identified as parivartaks to disseminate and train women.

School Health Awareness Program


  • 9000 school children covering 18 municipal schools were covered under MDRCH programme.
  • To inculcate & improve the educational environment various children health awareness programme on Personal hygiene, diet & nutrition, oral health and family life education were organised.
  • To develop educational culture among the aganwadi children, uniforms were distributed to 320 pre-school children (3 to 6 years) of Ramnagar & Anandnagar in collaboration with Rotary Club. Resulting improved enrollment (30% increases) in the Aganwadi classes and attitudinal change among the teachers was observed.


Essay and Poster Competition on RCH Components


Essay and poster competition was conducted for school going children on following subjects “My Ideal Parents”, “Women Role Model”, “My Ideal life partner”. Similarly for open category on following topics essays and posters were invited “National Development through women empowerment, “Male participation in Family Health”, & Health problems of young generation”. About 500 entries were received among which 15 participants were awarded for their outstanding entries.

Vocational Training for Adolescent Drop Outs


Vocational training for school drop outs was conducted in coordination with Rotary Club, Pimpri. Six months tailoring course and the sewing machines were given by Rotary Club. 22 adolescent girls benefited from the training programme and 13 participated in the final examination. Today 5 girls are earning from sewing at home.

Women Empowerment


To provide Legal advice and to adder the issues of domestic violence Women counseling centre was established in coordination with Swadhar in all the areas. During WE programmes, 9 Bachat Ghats were strengthened out of the 17 bachat Ghat in the area. 338 women parivartaks were trained for women empowerment and gender.

Gender Specific Activities


Regular lectures and training programmes on gender sensitization and equality were organised. Community programmes like street play on Adarsha Dampatya, Mulgi Zali Ho, Sakuche Lagin, Puppet show, Rangoli competition AIDS & RCH (Exhibition) Elocution competition were also organised to address the gender issues

Health Camps


With the ever increasing cost of medical treatment and poor awareness among most of the populace on health related issues, quality medical care is not only beyond the reach of the poor and marginalized but also a cause for exacerbating minor ailments into major ones. In fact often there are outbreaks of communicable diseases owing to lack of proper hygiene and sanitation facilities in slums. Therefore the Foundation organized regular health camps in the communities 10 camps on 40+ & 5 women and Paediatric camps were conducted for the benefit for the community. 1065 patients benefited these camps.

RTI/STI & HIV/AIDS Awareness


Various mediums were used to spread awareness among the community.

  • Lokmanya organised competition for public display of AIDS posters by the Ganesh Mandal during Ganesh festival in September 2005,3 winners were awarded for the best entries.
  • HIV/ AIDS awareness through folklore, an innovative means of “Pothraj” was used for AIDS awareness.
  • World AIDS Day 1st December 2005 was observed by Lokmanya and slum participats and school children organizing AIDS Rally from Kharalwadi – Nehrunagar – YCMH – Atre Sabhagrah PCMC.
  • Yuvati Melava was organised on 24th December 2005 where 6 adolescent girls of Dalvinagar spoke on AIDS. The best speaker was given prizes by Dr. Jagdale of PCMC.


Slum Health Committee (S.H.C.)


Slum Health Committee were established in Gandhinagar, Vidhyanagar, Dalvinagar, Indiranagar and Kalakhadak . It is an innovative effort to monitor, evaluate, plan and solve health problems at the grassroots level. It consists of local leaders, Corporators, Mahila Mandal Members, Tarun Mandal Members , Parivartak PCMC health department members.
President, Vice president, secretary, treasurer are elected for a period of six months. All the proceedings of the S.H.C is being regularly conducted monthly and various issues discussed on immunization, ANC registration and monitoring diseases like T.B, AIDS and cleanliness. Established S.H.C in To make the phase of RCH.committee sustainable it has been attached to PCMC under II

National Programmes


A large number of children of migratory workers remain incompletely immunized. Lokmanya in consonance with objective of MDRCH aimed to immunize all children in collaboration with Khinvasara Patil PCMC Hospital and it had undertaken regular immunisation camps in its project areas. The immunization programmes are supplemented with child health sessions with the parents. Immunization coverage has increased substantially in recent years after the implementation of MDRCH programme.
Lokmanya has whole heartedly participated in programmes of PCMC health dept like Leprosy eradication, prevention and control of urban tuberculosis, Vit. A supplement and Pulse Polio campaigns in all the project area.

Mobile Outreach Programme and fixed day Clinic


The Mobile Outreach Programme has been started with a vision of reaching out to the health needs of less privileged and those in the remote and inaccessible parts and deliver quality healthcare services at their doorstep. The Mobile van has a dedicated team of Doctors, health educator and paramedical staff. Many people are being benefited from this Outreach programme, apart from providing free medical check-up it also provides with free basic medicines to the patients.