WHERE WE WORK

India

Improving the health and well-being for families
living in poverty in India.

“Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all ages.”
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #3: Good Health and Well-Being

Living in India in extreme poverty encompasses more than a lack of money; instead, it manifests itself in the faces of a hungry mom and her child who have limited or no access to food, shelter, clean water, proper sanitation, healthcare, and education. Perhaps most importantly, women are deprived of their agency, restricting their ability to make decisions and create a pathway out of poverty. 

Opportunity’s focus in India includes providing healthcare in vulnerable communities through locally-led programs at the intersection of health and financial inclusion. Opportunity and its partners equip female clients to become community health leaders, spreading critical knowledge and health services.

Facts about India

  • 1.3B total population
  • 66% of the population lives in rural areas
  • 13% of the population lives on less than $1.90 per day
  • Poverty rates in India vary significantly by region. Some states and rural areas have higher poverty rates than others, contributing to the overall disparities.
  • Poverty rates in India vary significantly by region. Some states and rural areas have higher poverty rates than others, contributing to the overall disparities.

Our work in India

Health

We build strategic alliances to address water, sanitation, and health issues. We also work to train female clients in rural communities to be Health Leaders who can disseminate life-saving health and nutrition information as well as basic healthcare services to their communities.

poverty in India
Empowering Women

Mentoring is designed to educate women on domestic violence awareness, family health, and suicide prevention. Women are also trained as agent bankers to support financial services in rural communities to provide more women with access to banking services.

digital-services
Social Performance Management

Dia Vikas is a leader on collecting information about how products and services affect clients in outreach, range of services, protection, satisfaction, and transformation.


See how your support is
making a difference in India.

Learn more about our program in India, including strategy, objectives, and outcomes.

Read More
improving-health-in-india

Meet Rahima...

Rahima was born in a poor village in Bangladesh. She suffers severe anemia, which worsened during pregnancy. Struggling to access treatment, she became concerned for other women in her community.

As an Opportunity International microfinance client in Bangladesh, Rahima was invited to become a Community Health Leader (CHL). Once trained as a frontline health worker, she surveyed the health needs of 213 households where she identified untreated illness, poor nutrition, lack of pre- and postnatal care, and much more.

Today, she performs door-to-door visits, conducts group seminars, provides targeted health education, first aid, and facilitates formal healthcare when necessary. Rahima tracks her progress, for example, expectant moms are now completing regular check-ups and nutrition and sanitation standards are rising.

You can be part of empowering more women, like Rahima, as agents of change in their communities!