The Devi Chandraghunta is incarnated in today’s Janani Dr Rani Bang.
On the third day of Navratri, it is a journey of a Janani who became a Goddess of Health to the lakhs of women and children by revolutionising the health care from 1973 in the economical backward country.
~
I was born to the Chari family strongly committed to medical and public service. Seeing my grandparents dedicatedly working for the society, social work was rooted deep into our family culture. I completed my MBBS from Government Medical College Nagpur in 1972.
I was the only gold medal gynaecologist in Gadchiroli District and did the first ever cesarean surgery in the village. In these moments of highs, there were so many lows that changed my outlook towards the medical issues faced by women around me.
It was very unfortunate that I had to understand the troublesome health education and care in rural India when a two year old daughter of widowed labourer died in front of my eyes.
I was furious when I found out that the widow had gone to the fields to work to earn money so that she could feed her other two children rather than taking the daughter suffering from pneumonia to the hospital, the widow did not want her other two children die of hunger and poverty. And if she was able feed these children, on growing up, they will help her earn money for survival. So the widow let her two year old die, this incident had a great impact on my life. I learnt my lesson that healthcare was not merely about medicine and healing but also about being sensitive to our patients.
When I started working with the communities, I noticed, women’s reproductive health was the most neglected thing in our society. I spoke to several women from different villages in the district. To my surprise, all of them put obstructed labour and infertility in the most serious category.
I also realised, the mental health of the women in this country was also severely effected due to the criticism faced from the society for not bearing a child. A woman can die of obstructed labour only once, but if she has infertility, she dies every day. I realised how deep this problem ran in every home in our country. This reality pained me to such a extent that I started a whole new research.
A deeper investigation helped me identify the missing links as far as healthcare services for women were concerned.
I took the results of the study to global platforms, including the UN, and argued that we should not be limiting our view of women’s health to just maternal and child health (MCH) but we should be concerned with women and child health (WCH) rather than MCH. This study was published by Lancet, it was taken up by many women’s groups around the world. This lead to invitations form various conferences and meetings to present my findings. In 1992, I was invited to the World Health Assembly, which was attended by ministers from various countries and governmental health staff. I was the only non-government worker who presented the study and received the appreciation of representatives from all over the world. Thus, a study conducted in two small villages in a remote district of India changed the level of discussion internationally and that gave me a great sense of satisfaction.
My journey was supported and backed by my husband Abhay Bang, who is also a gold medalist. In this journey of healthcare revolutionary, he is equally credited for the change. Abhay and I got married in 1977 and its been 43 years since we both have dedicated our lives to the social and educational upliftment of the lowest of the low, in Maharashtra’s tribal district of Gadchiroli. In 1986 after returning from the United States, together we set up a grass root health organisation, SEARCH (Society for Education, Action & Research in Community Health).
In a bid to work out solutions in collaboration with the villagers, I set up Shodh Gram on a 13-acre plot in 1993 along with my husband Abhay Bang.
Today, Shodh Gram not only houses the Ma Danteshwati Hospital, it is my home, research campus, and the quarters for the voluntary organisation SEARCH. It also has a de-addiction centre, a farming patch to train tribal youth and a programme that imparts sex-education to school kids.
The selfless work towards changing the healthcare of India, Abhay and I were showered with some of the most prestigious awards.
In 2018, the fourth highest civilian award of India Padma Shri. In 2003, the Maharashtra Government awarded Maharashtra Bhushan Award. In 2005, Times Mazagine awarded Global Health Heroes. In 2013, Society of Scholars, Johns Hopkins University, USA, In 2016 World Health Organisation – Public Health Champions Award for Outstanding Contribution to Public Health in India. J.R.D. Tata Award for Excellence in Public Service.
Today when I see the change in the healthcare system of India and the medical transformation from being the only gynaecologist to the country having the finest doctors makes me feel satisfied of our dedication and vision.
Written by Anjusha Chaughule