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| Health Programme |
| Our Pushparani clinic, situated on
the RTU campus treats around 150 patients
every day from the surrounding villages. We have
a good supply of medicines and our own clinical
laboratory which carries out all necessary tests,
including for HIV/AIDS. Besides treatment for
infectious diseases including tuberculosis, it also
offers ante-natal care and mother-and-child
healthcare services. Patients with more serious
illnesses are referred to local or larger hospitals
at our expense |
| We have trained 32 women from 26
surrounding villages
as Village Health Workers to cope with simple
needs especially for women, children, adolescents
and the elderly. and to run ante-natal clinics. Babies and
toddlers are weighed regularly and if necessary we
supply a specially formulated nutritious flour (Sathumavu) to
the mother. |
| We have a medical jeep equipped
with basic medicines and simple test equipment. This
visits more distant villages each afternoon. |
| Achievements since RTU
started |
 |
Child
immunisation programmes |
|
|
Dental checks
for children |
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Mother and baby
clinics |
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Leprosy clinics
- We have eradicated leprosy from this area.
From 500 leprosy patients when we came here,
we have reduced the numbers to nil. We still
care for old and handicapped leprosy patients. |
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Polio, the commonest cause of handicaps has
now been eradicated from the area because
of our immunisation programme. |
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All our children
are given medical check-ups twice a year. |
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HIV/AIDS
|
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At present over 300 children from HIV+
backgrounds are in RTU's direct care, and
around 100 are themselves HIV+. They receive
ART treatment, and an HIV consultant visits
these children several times each month. |
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A Home Sponsorship programme makes a monthly
payment to over 90 families with a parent suffering
from AIDS to enable them to
continue caring for their children. Over 180
children benefit. |
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The Village Health Workers, in conjunction
with other RTU staff, promote HIV/AIDS
awareness, and human rights awareness, through
street theatre, film shows, and group
meetings. |
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Statistics are
unreliable, but there is evidence that Tamil
Nadu is the worst-affected state in India, and
the growth rate amongst children is claimed to
be as high as 50%. |
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