CRS supports community health centres and projects across Kolkata. CRS provides the doctors’ salaries and medicines while the local partner organisation is responsible for providing premises for holding clinics and health training.
School’s health programme
Doctors offer clinic hours for all members of the community and can dispense basic medicines.
Community clinics
Doctors offer monthly check-ups to children attending CRS education centres, including growth-monitoring. Students at the training centre for differently-abled persons are also given health checks.
Nutrition
Many of the children who attend the CRS education centres are unable to receive the nutrition they need at home. CRS is able to provide a healthy meal, recommended by a professional dietician, giving them the energy to learn and the nutrients to grow.
In addition, food packages are delivered to those taking part in the women’s empowerment initiatives and other CRS projects, to take home to their family.
Health camps
Day-long camps offer free care to a whole community, such as dental check-ups and eye testing.
As part of the CRS health programme, women are given sessions on a variety of health and hygiene issues for the benefit of themselves and their family. Topics include safe sanitation and the importance of hand-washing, spotting signs of tuberculosis or breast cancer, ante- and post-natal care, child immunisation, child nutrition and growth monitoring, and government health schemes.
CRS often organises blood donation drives in association with local organisations.
Referrals
Health teams are able to make referrals to specialist doctors or clinics for people with disabilities such as blindness or polio.
Awareness-raising
CRS organises health visitors to deliver sessions on health and sanitation, such as the importance of hand-washing, good nutrition, spotting signs of tuberculosis and cancer awareness. Many of these are done as part of the CRS education programme and CRS women’s empowerment programme.
The CRS health programme has made a tremendous difference in countless lives by diagnosing and treating illness, alleviating pain and reducing the incidence of disease. Your support can help many more people to improve their health and wellbeing.