The 73rd Constitutional Amendment empowers local communities through panchayats with functional responsibility for 29 subjects, including health. This positions Panchayats and its allied people’s committees as critical stakeholders in addressing social determinants of health, such as nutrition, pollution, and lifestyle choices, which directly influence public health outcomes.

The rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), malnutrition underscores the need for Panchayat-led governance in delivering comprehensive primary care. Initiatives like Ayushman Bharat- Ayushman Arogya Kendra (AB-AAK) and the National Health Mission (NHM) promote community engagement through structures like Village Health Sanitation and Nutrition Committees (VHSNCs) and Jan Arogya Samitis (JAS). These efforts are further strengthened by support from the 15th Finance Commission and NHM, which foster Panchayat-driven health planning, service delivery, and monitoring for healthier behaviours and outcomes.

About

The project is closely associated with both the Health and Governance sector. To achieve this, it adopts a community-led approach, with due support and guidance from Government Officials and staff. The key vehicle for community leadership will be the People’s Committees formed under the health sector and supported by the Panchayat Raj system. However, the current status of these committees is not as effective as intended, due to various ground-level challenges.

The project aims to collaborate with relevant departments to either form new committees where they do not exist or strengthen existing ones to enable them to deliver their roles and responsibilities more effectively. These committees are expected to work in coordination with sectoral departments and the wider community to identify health needs, ensure access to primary healthcare services, strengthen service delivery mechanisms, and address infrastructure and administrative issues. With the active engagement of stakeholders, the committees will prepare Village Health Plans (VHPs) and integrate them into the Panchayat Development Plans (PDPs).

Additionally, the committees will monitor improvements in healthcare and service delivery on a quarterly basis, providing structured feedback through technology-enabled systems. This process will generate Community Score Cards based on AAKs, fostering healthy competition among them. To enhance community awareness, the project will also organize BCC/IEC campaigns, health melas, annual public dialogues, social engagement events and other participatory activities.

Objective

• Capacity Building of PRI and Community Stakeholders – To enhance the competencies and capacities of Panchayat Raj Institutions, Health Frontline Workers, and Community Stakeholders
• Strengthening Panchayat Leadership in Health Governance – To empower Community Structure to lead participatory health planning and decision-making
• Community-Led Awareness and Engagement – To increase community awareness and engagement in primary healthcare services, entitlements, and preventive health behaviors
• Community-Based Monitoring and Feedback – To establish and operationalize community-based monitoring and feedback mechanisms
• Promoting Local Problem-Solving and Indigenous Solutions – To promote local problem-solving and the implementation of indigenous solutions for health service delivery challenges
• Fostering Inter-Departmental Convergence and Coordination – To strengthen convergence and coordination between PRIs, the health system, and allied departments (WCD, Education, etc.)
• Knowledge and Demonstration for Communitisation – To establish a knowledge and demonstration hub for documentation, dissemination, and scaling of best practices in PRI-led health governance