Based on the opportunities presented by women’s self help groups of MFIs, and the positive evidences of working with women’s groups for health and nutrition, this action-research project was centred around federated women’s micro credit self help groups as sites for community intervention in health and nutrition, with a particular focus on concerns of young girls, pregnant women and children.
Located in the rural and tribal contexts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, across 6 districts – Madurai, Ramanathapuram, Dindigul, Theni, Thanjavur, and Adilabad, the project covered ten federations (approximately 200,000 population). Established in 2004, the initiative was structured around the concept of self-health governance which integrated micro-finance and health care by promoting health intermediation with the Self Help Group Federations promoted by the Kalanjiam Foundation, a subsidiary of DHAN Foundation which is a development institution with its base in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.