These female health-care workers won a huge WHO honor. They'd like a raise, too
India's task force of over a million female health-care workers has won a prestigious award from one of the highest institutions in global health.
Unfortunately, it doesn't come with a cash prize.
"Awards don't fill stomachs," says Archana Ghugare, 42, a health-care worker from Pavnar, a village in the state of Maharashtra.
Ghugare works as an ASHA, short for Accredited Social Health Activists. It's a program run by India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that provides health care to rural and low-income communities in the country. They are not medical professionals but are entrusted with a long list of crucial health-care responsibilities, from advising new mothers about breastfeeding to raising awareness about COVID vaccines.
On May 22, the ASHA workers were named one of six recipients of the World Health Organization's — sharing the honor with such luminaries as the late The annual prize, created in 2019, recognizes individuals and groups that have made significant contributions to global health.
