Basic Healthcare Services

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Thematic Programs

Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

In southern Rajasthan’s tribal and rural communities, pregnancy and childbirth are often marked by risk – maternal mortality rate is at 106 per 1,00,000 livebirths while neonatal mortality is at 30 per 1000 live births. Long distances to health facilities, shortage of skilled staff, limited autonomy and awareness leave mothers and newborns especially vulnerable. Since its inception, BHS has made maternal and newborn health a critical focus, building a program rooted in dignity, trust, and continuity of care, with a strong emphasis on the first 1,000 days of life—from conception to a child’s second birthday, a period crucial for survival and lifelong health.

Our approach combines high-quality, 24/7 facility-based services with strong community engagement. Skilled nurses at AMRIT Clinics ensure safe deliveries, respectful maternity care, and emergency management, while our Health workers and Swasthya Kirans provide doorstep counselling and support. We prioritize birth preparedness through early antenatal registration, risk screening, and birth plans. High-risk pregnancies and low-birth-weight babies are identified early and supported with interventions such as Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC), nutritional counselling, and referral pathways. Timely postnatal visits ensure early detection of complications, while growth monitoring in the community helps prevent malnutrition and supports children’s healthy development.

Our maternal and newborn health program was built to challenge that long-standing realities in these regions. Stories like Amri’s —a young woman’s journey through childbirth complications, resilience is a reminder of the life-saving impact of accessible, respectful healthcare.

TB & CRDs

In Rajasthan, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the leading cause of disease burden and mortality among all non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The state also records a high prevalence of Tuberculosis (TB), particularly in the tribal regions of South Rajasthan. This situation is driven by factors such as poor nutrition, high migration rate, hazardous occupational exposures, and the use of unsafe cooking fuels. Despite the high disease burden, access to quality healthcare remains limited for these vulnerable populations.

As a response, Basic Health Care Services (BHS) has integrated Lung Health into its comprehensive primary healthcare services. Our strategy includes:

  • Strengthening clinical care for accurate, timely diagnosis and effective management
  • ⁠⁠Enhancing preventive and promotional efforts to support behaviour change through awareness and community engagement initiatives.

The program addresses a range of chronic lung conditions, including Tuberculosis, COPD, ⁠Silicosis, Post-TB Lung Disease, Bronchial Asthma

Through this integrated approach, we aim to improve early detection, ensure continuity of care, and empower communities to adopt healthier practices for better respiratory health.

Read more about our approach here: https://bhs.org.in/let-us-create-a-full-circle-of-care-plan-for-people-with-tuberculosis-a-lesser-approach-will-not-suffice/ 

Community Empowerment

Our work is deeply rooted in the principles of primary health care, with empowerment of individuals, families, and communities at its core. We believe that lasting health outcomes can only be achieved when communities themselves take ownership of their well-being. Through a range of platforms—Swasthya Kiran groups, Health Advisory Committees of local leaders, and Ujjala Samuhs (women’s solidarity groups)—we are creating spaces for dialogue, action, and advocacy. These groups play diverse roles: demanding better public health services, mobilizing systemic action, supporting peers through disease treatment, and influencing health practices at both family and community levels.

At the heart of this work is a network of more than 70 Swasthya Kirans—trained women health volunteers from the same villages they serve. These women are trusted health champions who visit households, provide contraceptives, monitor maternal and child health, identify malnutrition, and connect families to clinics.

By partnering with grassroots organizations and expanding discussions on tuberculosis and respiratory illnesses at a regional level, we are equipping communities with knowledge, resources, and systemic linkages to improve care. Together, these efforts are geared towards building a culture of collective responsibility for health and well-being.

Mental Health

Mental health is often unseen, yet it shapes every part of life. In the tribal and rural communities of southern Rajasthan where we work, people face multiple burdens, chronic illness, poverty, migration, and social marginalization. Tuberculosis and silicosis are common, and the stigma and hardship associated with them often lead to depression, anxiety, or distress. For those living with severe mental disorders, care is even harder to access, as government services are far away and families often turn only to traditional healers.

In July 2023, BHS launched its mental health program. Building on the trusted platform of our AMRIT primary care clinics, we began to integrate mental health care part of everyday health care. Nurses, doctors, and community health workers were trained to identify distress, offer psychological first aid, and refer people to mental health professionals (MHPs). Our patients now receive counselling, caregiver support, or psychiatric tele-consultation, all close to their homes.

With a dedicated team of trained professionals and standardized tools, we have been expanding mental health integration in TB care, developing perinatal mental health support, and embedding mental health literacy in every part of our community engagement.