Leadership

Dr Vijay Kumar MD, FAAP MAMS Executive Director and truste

Dr. Vijay Kumar is a Paediatrician and Public Health Specialist, he was Head of the department of Communicable medicine in PGIMER Chandigarh. He has served WHO for 15 years and the World Bank for 2 years. His core expertise is development of Social Paediatrics and implementable sciences of health to influence polices and action. His goal is to help achieve stabilization and optimization of implementation strategies on continuum of care to strengthen capacity of families’ communities and providers.

Awards and Recognition 

  • Vijay Kumar, Executive Director is a member of Mission Steering group National Health Mission, Ministry of Health and family Welfare Government of India.
  • Research done by SWACH with support from WHO and in collaboration with Haryana state lead to client retained home based record for the mother and the baby between the years 1989-2000. This experience as well as experiences in many countries then lead to evolution of mother child protection card (MCPC) in India to serve as a health monitoring tool, an educational and empowering tool for the family for continuum of care (pregnancy up to 3 years of age of the child).
  • SWACH has the distinction of initiating the national ARI (pneumonia) control program in children. SWACH was requested by the Government of India to implement and monitor the national program in 23 districts in 6 states of the country. After evaluation, this was adopted and included as a part of Child survival and Safe Motherhood (CSSM) strategy RCH I and RCH II strategies and later as a part of IMCI strategy which is now an integral part of RMNCH plus program.
  • Developed a model for peer groups in adolescents and through advocacy. This concept has been mainstreamed in national policy on adolescent health and development.
  • SWACH was a pioneer in implementing care for child development (CCD) which facilitated in developing national policy and operational guidelines for implementation of CCD in the country.
  • Developed tools for assessment of quality and coverage in adolescent health for WHO which was adapted by many countries in the world.
  • With support from CDC Atlanta and WHO in collaboration with the state NHM, SWACH started population based surveillance of birth defects since July 2015. Surveillance of birth defects along with research done in collaboration with W.H.O., CDC, PGIMER, Chandigarh and NHM (Haryana) has led to an important policy decision for wheat flour fortification by the government of Haryana .
  • Promotion of M-health to strengthen family centred care is a new initiative to strengthen the current programs for provision of care during pregnancy child birth and the first two years of life.
  • Basic work to help government of India to refine its policy on the use of antenatal corticosteroids during pregnancy.

Vision

To Improve health of population (with particular focus on women and children) through preventive, promotive curative & rehabilitative approaches with in the primary health care; ensuring Universal health coverage by reaching no one behind with particular focus on equity and on unreachable population in rural, urban and urban slams.

Mission

SWACH would work within the existing policy framework, and the resource limitations of the Government so as to bring about sustained improvements in maternal and child health, family planning and adolescent health through participation of the families and communities.

Our Aims and Objectives

  • To promote the survival and the quality thereof, of women and children through health, education and community development services and research;
  • To develop and undertake evaluation of programmes and activities, related to health and social welfare, with special focus on the survival of women and children;
  • To undertake research and assist other national and international, official and non-official organizations and individuals carrying out research with special focus on women and children;
  • To produce and disseminate training material and health education and technology aids with special focus on the survival and the quality thereof women and children;
  • To act as a liaison body between National and International organization with common interest in community health so as to stimulate scientific and practical interests and act as an information sharing centre.