The busy life of poor laborers makes it impossible for them to get any information about protecting their health or living a less costly life. They neither have time nor information about how to get the various welfare benefits for which they are eligible and which can make their life a little better.
Its ironic that in this age of information and technology, the poor just cannot access the much needed information. Even so, the authorities do not provide information in a localized manner so that residents of a particular town or city can know exactly what the government offers to different sections of the society. It is believed that referral is the weakest link in our primary healthcare system. Now that transport facility has been provided, no one knows that it even exists.
The government services have lost so much credibility that now, even though the government offers money for institutional delivery, the people still have better confidence in private doctors if they have money or in untrained or trained birth attendants if they can't afford private doctor. Those who opt for private doctors, end up in small clinics run by 'doctors' of dubious credentials.
If government can find funds for running meaningful information projects with support of social workers to liaison between people and the government authorities, a whole lot o f non-utilization problem might be solved. Many migrant dwellers do not know where the government hospital is, even if they know they cannot spend on transport frequently enough to access out patient services of the distant government hospital.
Apart from providing ambulances in the city, there should be some reliable, comfortable, cheap transport facility available for these invisible people who cannot move around because of the cost and time involved.
Hospitals run by ESI (Employees State Insurance) have a poor reputation in terms of quality of services. Even then, people who have been registered with ESI have nothing much to say about these services, since this is the best they think they can get.
I have come across no one so far in this survey, who would say that he earned a salary more than Rs. 6000. So, it can be reasonably concluded that this invisible population of migrant slum dwellers is entirely below poverty line. They do not have the resources to network with each other and form registered society or social groups that cannot be ignored by the employers or the city authorities, when something unjust happens to them. They hardly know each other enough to tell each other's whereabouts, duration of stay in the city or any other information about their fellow migrants. The idea of self-help groups seems to be wrought with difficulties since they don't socialize with each other.
Individualized lifestyle of an urban place hits them in such a way that they get imprisoned in their own cell of work, eat and sleep. It looks like, socializing is also a luxury available for the upper economic classes.
Its ironic that in this age of information and technology, the poor just cannot access the much needed information. Even so, the authorities do not provide information in a localized manner so that residents of a particular town or city can know exactly what the government offers to different sections of the society. It is believed that referral is the weakest link in our primary healthcare system. Now that transport facility has been provided, no one knows that it even exists.
The government services have lost so much credibility that now, even though the government offers money for institutional delivery, the people still have better confidence in private doctors if they have money or in untrained or trained birth attendants if they can't afford private doctor. Those who opt for private doctors, end up in small clinics run by 'doctors' of dubious credentials.
If government can find funds for running meaningful information projects with support of social workers to liaison between people and the government authorities, a whole lot o f non-utilization problem might be solved. Many migrant dwellers do not know where the government hospital is, even if they know they cannot spend on transport frequently enough to access out patient services of the distant government hospital.
Apart from providing ambulances in the city, there should be some reliable, comfortable, cheap transport facility available for these invisible people who cannot move around because of the cost and time involved.
Hospitals run by ESI (Employees State Insurance) have a poor reputation in terms of quality of services. Even then, people who have been registered with ESI have nothing much to say about these services, since this is the best they think they can get.
I have come across no one so far in this survey, who would say that he earned a salary more than Rs. 6000. So, it can be reasonably concluded that this invisible population of migrant slum dwellers is entirely below poverty line. They do not have the resources to network with each other and form registered society or social groups that cannot be ignored by the employers or the city authorities, when something unjust happens to them. They hardly know each other enough to tell each other's whereabouts, duration of stay in the city or any other information about their fellow migrants. The idea of self-help groups seems to be wrought with difficulties since they don't socialize with each other.
Individualized lifestyle of an urban place hits them in such a way that they get imprisoned in their own cell of work, eat and sleep. It looks like, socializing is also a luxury available for the upper economic classes.
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