GS4 · UPSC Mains
You are posted as a District Development officer in a district with a low literacy rate and poor health indicators. As you took charge, your Health Secretary had given express instructions that your priority is to improve health indicators by enhancing the delivery of healthcare services. After taking over, you traveled around the district to study and identify ways of improving healthcare services. During your field trip, you discovered that the issue was not the accessibility of services; it was something else. You found the problem was the myths, misconceptions, and malpractices that hindered the uptake of health care services. For instance, people believed that vaccines caused impotence, immunization was equivalent to birth control, using antenatal care was counterproductive to the health of the mother and baby, and so on. You realize that these beliefs were the behavioral barriers that stood in the way of health and nutrition services. And these behavioral barriers made it difficult for front-line workers to reach out. You discussed your observations with the Health Secretary, and he advised you to seek inputs from the neighboring district DDO who was doing some good work. When you met with the neighboring DDO, you learned he was experimenting with using the Faith leader's influence and reach to persuade people. You were unsure about roping in faith leaders to help you overcome the behavioral barriers. As a civil servant, you felt it would be a mistake to involve faith leaders in health service schemes. When you shared your apprehensions with the Secretary, he firmly instructed you to try and innovate. (a) What are the issues involved in the above case? (b) What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Faith leaders as influencers and persuaders? (c) If not faith leaders, what are your other options for breaking the behavioral barriers? (d) Do you think it is ethically right for a civil servant to involve faith leaders in promoting government schemes? (Answer in 250 words)
GS4 · Case studies on the above issues
| Topper | Rank | Source | Copy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nausheen | AIR 9 | Nextias | p.32 |
| Anjali Thakur | AIR 43 | Nextias | p.32 |
| K N Chandana Jahnavi | AIR 50 | Nextias | p.32 |
| Nidhi Goyal | AIR 91 | Nextias | p.32 |
| Animesh Jain | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Anjali Thakur | — | Nextias | p.32 |
| Animesh Jain | — | UnlockIAS | p.32 |
| ANUSHKA KARNWAL | — | NextIAS | p.41 |
| Sameer Goel | — | NextIAS | p.31 |
| NAZIA PARWEEN | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Nazish Umar Ansari | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Ankit Agrawal | — | NextIAS | p.31 |
| Mrinal Kumar | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Arfa Usmani | — | NextIAS | p.30 |
| Mohit Gupta | — | NextIAS | p.43 |
| SYED ADEEL MOHSIN | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Areeba Nomaan | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| DEEPESH GAUR | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| JASWANT MALIK | — | NextIAS | p.28 |
| Muhammed Swalah T A | — | NextIAS | p.32 |
| Muhammed Swalah T A | — | NextIAS | p.32 |