India’s child and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world. Increased access to and use of maternal, child health and family planning information and services improves health for this vulnerable population. In northern India, where child and maternal mortality rates are high, effective family planning and reproductive health services are limited. Accessibility to health facilities is a major deterrent in the uptake of health services in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, where much of the population lives in small villages.

To address this, the Mobile Health Van project brings healthcare services directly to village communities in Nainital District. The state has provided health vans that are run by NGOs.

The IFPS project provides technical assistance, monitoring and management oversight to one of the NGOs to ensure quality health care services. The fully equipped health van provides health services, including information and awareness generation on reproductive child health and family planning, such as IUD insertions, condoms and pills, and maternal health like ante-natal check-ups and general outpatient health care, and diagnostic facilities, such as x-ray and blood tests. The van conducts 16 camps each month. The van is fully staffed with doctors, a radiologist, pharmacist, an X-ray and Electrocardiogram (ECG) technician, nurse and health coordinator. A pre-determined route has been established so that potential clients know when to expect the vans in their community. All services are provided free of cost.

Recognizing the challenges of providing health services to rural, difficult-to-reach communities, the state government of Uttarakhand hopes to eventually provide health vans in all of the state’s districts with funding from the Government of India’s National Rural Health Mission.