Doctor at School is AarogyaSeva’s Comprehensive Child Health Program (CCHP) with strong support from Pediatricians, Indian Academy of Pediatrics, volunteers, counselors, institutions and Government agencies.

Eradicating even easily treated ailments, like stomach worms which creates discomfort and impacts nutrition, can improve health for the children as they develop into adults.

The medical professionals and non-medical volunteers are able to improve the quality of life and therefore access to education for children at no cost to the children or the schools. By working with the schools, local governments, and local NGO’s, doctors are able to screen children at these schools, orphanages or institutional homes twice a year and any health issues that arise between screenings are resolved when a doctor comes once a month.

Additionally, school children have the benefit of awareness talks done by non-medical volunteers on pertinent topics such as drugs, sexual violence, and menstrual hygiene.

The comprehensive nature of the program is innovative in that it brings health and health education to children in often marginalized communities. The local volunteers make this program truly sustainable, a necessity in ensuring that the access to health is available, accessible, acceptable to the local community and of good quality in conformity with the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights report on the 22nd, 23rd and 24th sessions General Comment No. 14.

The key takeaways are:

• Comprehensive nature of the program
• Unique in its way of functioning.
• Decentralising healthcare services to a level where doctors and residents located in the vicinity of a government school take ownership of the healthcare scenario of the children on a long term basis.
• All aspects of the program are done voluntarily by the doctors and people in a community.