Rajasthan’s Nutrition Warrior Leads Her Village With ‘Healthy Mother, Healthy Offspring’ Motto

Nisha Choubisa, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker, is a nutrition warrior, given her tremendous work towards the health of expectant mothers and infants in her village, Majawada, near Udaipur, Rajasthan.

As an ASHA worker, Ms Choubisa has been working with the Anganwadi in her village for the last five years and has been making her community aware of health and nutrition. This was of prime importance to her since the nutritional rate of pregnant women and infants in her village was very low when she became a part of the primary healthcare in 2018.

Lack of knowledge led to villagers following an old practise of home births, unaware of the risk factors it included. On the other hand, Ms. Choubisa not only persuades families to choose institutional delivery, but she also discusses postpartum care for both mother and newborn.

The 45-year-old visits nearly 10 houses every day, personally attending to the villagers and explaining the importance of nutrition to pregnant women and lactating mothers.

Nisha Choubisa credits her sons for changing her perception towards health and nutrition, as it was after their births that she realised the importance of nutrition, hygiene, and much more.

Before joining the health workforce, Ms. Choubisa, an Arts graduate, worked in a private school as a science and English teacher. She calls on a regressive mentality set among villagers as the biggest obstacle to Majawada's success in accessing healthcare facilities. She decided to call it quits and started working as an Anganwadi worker to realise the community's needs.

For her efforts, she was also felicitated with a Nutrition Warrior award at the Outlook Poshan Awards 2019. Her work has had also received recognition in 2018 from IPE Global, an Indian-international development consultancy.