One million Accredited Social Health Activist Workers (ASHA) workers in India were awarded and honoured by the World Health Organization (WHO) for their ‘outstanding’ contribution to advancing global health, demonstrated leadership and commitment to regional health issues.

They were honoured for their crucial role in linking the community with the health system and ensuring those living in rural poverty can access primary health care services throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Announcing this, WHO took to twitter and wrote, “The Accredited Social Health Activist Workers (ASHA) are more than 1 million female volunteers in #India, honored for their crucial role in linking the community with the health system and ensuring that those living in rural poverty can access primary health care services.”

The ceremony for the awards, which were established in 2019, was part of the live-streamed high-level opening session of the 75th World Health Assembly.

This was one of the six awards that the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Sunday to recognise outstanding contributions to advancing global health, demonstrated leadership and commitment to regional health issues.

Dr Tedros himself decides on the awardees for the World Health Organization Director-General’s Global Health Leaders Awards.

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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness that the entire team of ASHA workers have been conferred the WHO Director-General’s Global Health Leaders’ Award. In a tweet, Mr Modi congratulated all the ASHA workers for this.

He said, “Delighted that the entire team of ASHA workers have been conferred the @WHO Director-General’s Global Health Leaders’ Award. Congratulations to all ASHA workers. They are at the forefront of ensuring a healthy India. Their dedication and determination is admirable.”