For decades, women in rural India have had to travel as far as 60 miles to give birth in a hospital.
That's about to change.
The New York Times reports that village health councils have been springing up across the country to take charge of health care projects in their communities.
The idea is to give people a say in the design, construction, and maintenance of their facilities, according to a press release from the Meghalaya state government.
Village health councils, orASHAs, are made up of the heads of households, teachers, and Anganwadi workers in each village.
"The key roles of the ASHAs are to generate demand for health services, create a sense of ownership by the community, lead awareness campaigns, facilitate local problem-solving, and implementation of health infrastructure projects," the press release states.
In fact, it's not just India's health care system that's in need of such a change.
The World Health Organization reports that under the Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission, which is funded by the Indian government, village health councils have been tasked with building 75 new sub-centers across the state by the end of the next fiscal year in the hope of reducing maternal and infant mortality rates and improving the overall health of
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