NEW DELHI: The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has concluded a two-day national training programme for officials associated with the ASHA Certification Programme, with the next phase targeting certification of 10 lakh Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers across the country.Organised under the joint aegis of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the National Health Systems Resource Centre (NHSRC), the programme focused on strengthening the capacities of officials to ensure effective and uniform implementation of the certification programme nationwide.Over 2.27 lakh ASHA workers enrolledAddressing the inaugural session, NIOS Director (Vocational Education) Dr. TN Giri said the certification programme is currently being implemented in 22 states and three Union Territories.He said more than 2.27 lakh ASHA workers have been enrolled, while over 1.65 lakh have already been certified.“The next phase aims to certify 10 lakh ASHA workers,” he said, adding that the initiative aligns with the vision of “From Self-Learning to Self-Reliance” and “Developed India, Skilled India.”Dr. Rakesh Bohare, senior joint director of national health mission, Madhya Pradesh, said continuous learning and the sharing of experiences would be critical to the programme’s success and would enhance the competence and service delivery capabilities of ASHA workers.‘Significant investment towards building a Healthy India’Delivering the keynote address, Dr Neelima Mishra, director of the National Institute of Biologicals, described ASHA workers as the frontline of India’s public healthcare system. She said the certification programme would strengthen their competence and professional skills while improving the quality of healthcare delivery through a transparent digital certification platform.Calling the initiative “a significant investment towards building a Healthy India,” Mishra said it would contribute to improving the effectiveness of the country’s public health system.Presiding over the valedictory session, NIOS chairman Prof. Akhilesh Mishra said strengthening the training and ensuring quality certification of ASHA workers was an important step towards making India’s primary healthcare services more effective.He also appreciated the collaborative efforts of the ministry of health and family welfare, NHSRC and NIOS in implementing the programme, expressing confidence that the initiative would become a milestone in ensuring transparent certification and quality training for ASHA workers across the country.
