Catholic Health Association of India

Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) is currently the worlds largest non governmental organization (NGO) in the health services sector, and is in existence since 1943. CHAI is a membership organisation with its headquarters at Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh; and having over 3200 health institutions as its members that include big, medium and small hospitals, health centres and diocesan social service societies.

Background

* Genesis of a Great InitiativeThe Catholic Health Association of India celebrates it 62 years of service. The organization has grown in terms of its membership, services and expanded the scope for encompassing and achieving the mission for which it was established in 1943. The organization has been shaped and nurtured by the visionaries who directed it and by the impact of national and international happenings. There have been paradigm shifts to meet the needs and to fulfill the vision and mission of reaching the poor and marginalized.

The Catholic Hospital Association was founded on 29 July 1943, by Sr. Dr. Mary Glowrey, JMJ, in association with 16 religious sisters, July 1943. It was founded with the motto of improvement in standard of health education and promotion of catholic values and option for poor.

Administrators

PresidentSr.Dr.Vijaya Sharma

DirectorRev.Dr. Sebastian Ousepparampil

Vision

The Catholic Health Association of India (CHAI) upholds its commitment to bring ‘health for all’. It views health as a state of complete physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being, and not merely the absence of sickness. Accordingly, CHAI envisions an INDIA wherein people
* Are assured of clean air, water and environment;
* Do not suffer from any preventable disease;
* Are able to manage their health needs;
* Are able to control the forces which cause ill health;
* Enjoy dignity and equality and are partners in decisions that affect them, irrespective of caste, creed, religion or economic status, and
* Respect human life and hold and nurture it to grow into its fullness.

Mission

In order to realize the vision, CHAI endeavours to
* Promote community health, understood as a process of enabling the people, especially the poor and the marginalized, to be collectively responsible to attain and maintain their health and demand health as a right, and
* Ensure availability of health care of reasonable quality at reasonable cost.

Goal

CHAI is a charitable, voluntary, non-profit Catholic Christian organization working for the promotion of physical, psychological, social and spiritual health of all people irrespective of caste, creed and sex, rendering service, education and research.

ome notes

The author has not originally written anything in this article but only copied related contents from the official site of CHAI [http://www.chai-india.org/] .

ee also

* Christian Medical Association of India, New Delhi
* Christian Medical College & Hospital, Tamil Nadu
* Council of Christian Hospitals, Andhra Pradesh
* Peoples Action for Rural Awakening, Andhra Pradesh
* Bosco Seva Kendra, Andhra Pradesh

External links

* Readers are advised to visit the official site of CHAI [http://www.chai-india.org/]