As heatwaves intensify, India’s ASHA workers are paying the price
ASHA health workers in India are facing extreme heatwaves while continuing their essential community health duties. Many workers report inadequate pay, delayed wages, and increased pressure from officials during the summer months.
Why it matters
This highlights the vulnerability of frontline health workers in developing nations as climate change intensifies extreme weather events.
On May 20, Uttar Pradesh’s Banda district recorded 48 degrees Celsius, among the highest temperatures globally that day. But life continued as usual for Meena Srivastava in Bundelkhand, where she’s spent nearly two decades working since 2006 as an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker. “ Humein garmi ki aadat hai, par is saal garmi kuch zyada hi hai … (We are used to the heat but it’s exceptionally hot this year),” says this ASHA from Naugawa village, UP.
The article focuses on the plight of low-wage workers and systemic labor issues, which is a common framing in social-justice-oriented journalism.
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