Abstract

Background: Government of Gujarat launched “Chiranjeevi Scheme” as a one-year pilot project in December 2005 in five backward districts (Banaskantha, Dahod, Kutch, Panchmahals, and Sabarkantha). The scheme has now been extended to the entire state.

Aims & Objective: To assess (1) Awareness and utilization of ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’; (2) Reasons for not utilizing the benefits of ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’; (3) Problems faced in the utilization as perceived by the beneficiaries.
Material and Methods: A total of 116 BPL families selected by Simple random sampling (SRS) method were included in the present study. All females of 15-49 years of age group and one male person who is the Head of Family were taken from each of the family.

Results: Out of total 268 subjects, only 88 ( 32.84%) subjects were aware about ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’. Out of them 56 were females and 32 were head of the family males. A total of 46 out of 152 (30.26%) females utilized the benefits of ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’. There is a significant association between education and knowledge regarding ‘Yojana’. The reasons for non-utilization was unawareness about the procedural aspects of registration and availing the benefits, the types of services covered under the yojana and the misconception that they have to pay additional charges also.

Conclusion: Most of the participants who were actually the beneficiaries of the scheme were unaware of ‘Chiranjeevi Scheme’. IEC activities with emphasis on Government programs focusing on maternal and child health should be strengthened.

Key words: ‘Chiranjeevi Yojana’; Awareness; Utilization; BPL families