Public Health Resource Network - Ranchi

Sitting in his office, Haldhar Mahto sensed relief. He was finally getting a clear picture about the welfare plan for the development of 1.45 lac* villagers in Ranchi District. For a long time now, the state of villagers in Jharkhand had continued to bother him. Mr. Mahto has been part of the Public Health Resource Network an NGO devoted to develop public health in villages by supporting government, civil society organisations and individuals in capacity building. He observed that, health issues are closely related to the economic wellbeing of villagers. Had there been a proper economic development, infrastructure and other facilities, there would have been better public health. Public Health includes education, economy, health etc. He wanted to design a plan which would help the villagers to prosper in their own village, but whatever plan he had made so far, there had been always some issues with them. Either the plan was not sustainable in long run, or it was too costly to even begin with. However , it appeared that today his luck was on a roll . A brilliant idea had came to his mind which he wanted to share with his colleagues in todays meeting.

Present scenario in villages

There is a lot of scope for development in villages of Jharkhand. The roads are in relatively good condition and there is fair supply of electricity. Animal husbandry and irrigation facility are in a state that a lot of innovation could be deployed to develop them further. Presently, the various needs of the villagers are satisfied by sourcing in products from far-off areas. Products consisted of clothes, grains, FMCG goods and goods for other common needs. These products used to have a high mark-up and there existed a lot of scope to have it reduced. People are mostly engaged in agricultural activities. Products like fertilizers, seeds, etc. are heavily demanded. Economies of scale and scope can play an important role in optimizing the procurement process of such products. The education level of the villagers is not high. Those who are educated generally move out of the village. A number of individuals attached to various non-profit organizations, including PHRN, are involved in creating general awareness about public health, education, economy etc. The health care system also has scope for improvement. Government supported health care centres like Anganwadi (167* centres for concerned 81* Villages) have their presence in the region. Healthcare activities of the Centre, theoretically, include contraceptive counselling and supply, nutrition-education and supplementation, distribution of health products for mother and child through ICDS (Integrated Child Development Services) centres. Each ICDS centre provides a monthly budget of approximately Rs. 10,500* to each AWC that distribute Take Home Ration/Cooked items per day for which items are procured locally as per their discretion. For More details on ICDS and AWC Centre visit: http://wcddel.in/icds.html, PHRN: http://www.phrnindia.org/

Beginning transformation
As the saying goes, good work never goes in vain. Various works in the field of social development have started fetching results. There has been a visible rise in awareness levels of villagers on areas related to their welfare including health, economy education etc. They have created a Federation which includes 300 Self Help Groups (SHGs) across 81 Villages. Each SHG have 15-20 women with collective savings of approximately Rs. 50, 000 to 70,000*. Federation is willing to

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * The data provided are not accurate but approximate & may vary. Data covered here is relevant to PHRN and not to entire state of Jharkhand Excerpts from Hindustan Times, Jamshedpur edition dated Jan 27th, 2014 The case is developed solely as the basis for event competitions, in order to help NGOs in upliftment of society. cases are not intended to serve as endorsement, sources of primary data, or illustration of (any institutions) effective or ineffective management

Public Health Resource Network - Ranchi

spend a sum of about 40 lac* in a sustainable business model that can be managed and operated locally at the block (81 Villages) level (of villagers by villagers). Refer Exhibit 1 & 2. PHRN is looking for an idea that can do the best utilisation of their money . They want that not only the money should grow at a good rate, but should also benefit every individuals during this process. They are looking for a sustainable growth model which would help improve the scenario of the village and villagers. At the same time the money should also grow They are looking for an organic growth. Mr. Mahto is not sure that which model would help them achieve such long term goals. But, it seems that today he has an idea which might solve this issue.

The Meeting
Mr. Mahto: I think I have cracked this problem of sustainable organic growth model which has been vexing us for a long time. Colleague: Thats great! I hope that it doesnt happens, like what happened to other ideas. Mr. Mahto: Oh. No.. No. No. This time I have given lots of thought over it. You know that Anganwadi's (AWC) always procure food items from different vendors. Colleague: Yes. I believe they procure food items for manufacturing of micronutrient energy dense food and distribute the same amongst the Children up to 0-3 years of age and pregnant/lactating women as Take home ration (THR) through 38,432* Anganwadi centres Functioning under 204* ICDS project in the state of Jharkhand. But how is that related to growth model ? Mr. Mahto: Hmm.. That itself is our model. Our SHG's can be vendors to Produce and supply food items to the Anganwadi's (AWC) under the Take Home Ration scheme. The market for such supply is estimated at 750* crores in Jharkhand. The supreme court in its order has encouraged SHG's to supply supplementary food to Anganwadi's (AWC). Colleague: That seems a very good idea, but how are you planning to implement it ? Mr. Mahto : Well , I am sure we will come up with a good plan..

Excerpts from Supreme court order of 7th October 2004 (Judges - P. SATHASIVAM, RANJANA PRAKASH DESAI , RANJAN GOGOI )
As per the SC order Contractors shall not be used for supply of nutrition in Anganwadi's and preferably ICDS funds shall be spent by making use of village communities, self-help groups and Mahila Mandals for buying of grains and preparation of meals.

Bottlenecks in implementing that model in state of Jharkhand

The Jharkhand Govt has kept some preconditions for participating in the bidding process which makes it impossible for SHG's to compete. Since the pre condition calls for deposit of a security of Rs 1.25cr to participate in the tender process for the production and supply of food items under the Take Home Ration(THR) scheme for children below three
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * The data provided are not accurate but approximate & may vary. Data covered here is relevant to PHRN and not to entire state of Jharkhand Excerpts from Hindustan Times, Jamshedpur edition dated Jan 27th, 2014 The case is developed solely as the basis for event competitions, in order to help NGOs in upliftment of society. cases are not intended to serve as endorsement, sources of primary data, or illustration of (any institutions) effective or ineffective management

Public Health Resource Network - Ranchi

years of age. No genuine village based SHG has access to a capital of this magnitude. The potential manufacturers include self help groups, Mahila Mandals, village community and other companies. This acts against the Supreme Court's order calling for local-level involvement in the purchase of food items for Take home ration schemes by SHG's and Mata Samitis (Mother Committees). This idea of organic, sustainable model is a bugaboo for Mr. Mahto. Because even if the bid amount of 1.25crore is mobilized, he wondered how will the SHGs take this model forward. The villagers presently have a very limited sense of formal business process, whether its about pricing, marketing, supply chain modelling. The thought process to run and sustain business while staying in the village is not well-developed. The villagers also needed vocational training that would complement their skills in order to move from one position to another in the product-distribution-consumption chain.

Social Implications of the proposed model

The sustainable model of Food items being supplied to AWC as conceptualised by Mahto, if implemented, will not only improve the socioeconomic conditions of the SHG members (mainly women) but also will improve the health and nutrition status of their children in the age group of 0-6 years. The following study shows the health related issues and its impact on children under age of 3. The first few years of life of a child involve rapid growth and development of the brain. From the ages of 0 to 3, a babys brain grows to 80% of its adult size and is twice as active as adults. Poverty, early in a childs life may be particularly harmful because this astonishingly rapid development of young childrens brains leaves them sensitive (and vulnerable) to environmental conditions. That person is more likely to grow up with compromised physical and mental health and lowered academic achievement. Therefore, a stimulating environment and a sense of security in early childhood can be critically important for healthy brain development, and through brain development, the quality of skills and life prospects of the individual, as found by a University of California Berkeley study.

The questions
1. Please suggest a business model for next 3-5 years to make SHG's attain competency of managing business in order to take projects (THR) by competing against companies (i.e. For procurement of food items to AWC assuming bid amount is mobilized) ? 2. What skill sets would be required for people at different roles in this business? 3. How would you increase villager's engagement more in this business? 4. Explain the cost details needed for increased villagers' participation in your business idea ? 5. Analyze in detail the various aspects of the model like operation, marketing, supply-chain management, distribution etc.?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * The data provided are not accurate but approximate & may vary. Data covered here is relevant to PHRN and not to entire state of Jharkhand Excerpts from Hindustan Times, Jamshedpur edition dated Jan 27th, 2014 The case is developed solely as the basis for event competitions, in order to help NGOs in upliftment of society. cases are not intended to serve as endorsement, sources of primary data, or illustration of (any institutions) effective or ineffective management

Public Health Resource Network - Ranchi

Federation Formation
Collection of money. Formation of of self-help groups with 15-20 members. More than 300 SHGs. Each SHG act as co-operative group. Each group has around Rs.50000-70000. Formation of block level federation. Each SHG is represented by it's two members in federation. The capital of SHG is available for investement by federation.

This would provide an insight into the formation of co-operative society; the block discussed here is Gola. The SHG collects money from its members and work as a co-operative society. These SHG or co-operative groups are represented in another, bigger co-operative group i.e. federation by two of its members. The federation exist at the block level. The members of the federation meet on 24th of every month and discuss about the future and existing plans. The money collected by SHGs is pooled into the federation. This money is available for investment and development. The money, left idle mostly, is available for rotation and multiplication through robust and sustainable business model.

Exhibit 1 . Gola block co-operative group formation

Structure of Federation Currently there are 7000-8000 women in federation. It includes 300 Self Help Groups (SHG) with about 15-20 women per group. Federation Includes 81 villages with 1.45 lakh population. Federation SHG1
81 Villages

SHG2

....SHG300 15 - 20 Women Capital of 50K - 70 K

Exhibit 2.

References
The case is based on following sources. Interview with Mr Haldar Mahto and his team at PHRN Ranchi. Excerpts from Supreme Court order of 7th October 2004 Excerpts from Hindustan Times dated 27h Jan, 2014 http://europa.eu/epic/news/2012/20121102-neuroscience-impact-poverty-braindevelopment_en.htm

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ * The data provided are not accurate but approximate & may vary. Data covered here is relevant to PHRN and not to entire state of Jharkhand Excerpts from Hindustan Times, Jamshedpur edition dated Jan 27th, 2014 The case is developed solely as the basis for event competitions, in order to help NGOs in upliftment of society. cases are not intended to serve as endorsement, sources of primary data, or illustration of (any institutions) effective or ineffective management