Auxiliary Nurse Midwives (ANMs) serving in the public health sector are voicing strong concerns over an ever-increasing digital reporting load. They report being burdened with managing approximately 14 distinct mobile applications, all while striving to fulfill their crucial field duties.
Organized under the umbrella of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), these dedicated ANMs held a protest outside the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare’s office in Hyderabad. Their collective plea calls for the government to roll back these demanding applications and significantly lighten their overall responsibilities.
M. Narasimha, AITUC State deputy general secretary, highlighted the dramatic escalation of this digital demand. He noted that when online reporting first began in 2016, it involved only one or two applications. Now, however, the workload has exploded. ‘Each application, whether it’s for U-WIN, NCD, MCH-KIT, IDSP, TB Mukt Bharat, or Sickle Cell, demands the input of 20 to 30 data points,’ he explained. Narasimha further elaborated, ‘For instance, recording details for just one individual on the NCD app can consume up to 30 minutes. With ambitious targets requiring ANMs to screen 35% of the population, our frontline health workers are finding it nearly impossible to keep pace.’
Narasimha emphasized that the primary roles for which ANMs were initially recruited focused on vital community tasks: monitoring rural health conditions, implementing crucial preventive measures, disseminating health awareness, and delivering essential vaccinations.