In 1998, when Dr. Ashish Satav and his wife, Dr. Kavita, arrived in Melghat, one of the most backward tribal areas in Maharashtra, infant mortality rates in that region were staggering: more than 100 deaths per 1,000. live births, nearly double the Indian average. of 52 per 1,000.
There were no hospital facilities anywhere nearby, and child malnutrition was rampant, 10 times higher than official government statistics.
Today, Ashish and Kavita, through sheer determination and ingenuity, have managed to reduce mortality rates to around 60 per 1,000. Cases of severe malnutrition have been reduced by more than 40%.
Over the past 12 years, this dynamic duo has treated more than 38,000 patients in 36 poor villages in Melghat, saving many lives and treating people back to health.
Even as a young man, Ashish was deeply inspired by Gandhi’s call for young men to work in the villages. His own grandfather was a leader in the Sarvodaya movement. As a medical student, Ashish used to visit Dr. Prakash Amte who did stellar work in the Gadchiroli tribal areas of Maharashtra.
Once he graduated, instead of joining a lucrative big-city practice, Ashish knew he could make a bigger impact by working in the poorest and most deprived parts of India. She landed in beautiful but poor Melghat.
Ashish recounts an early experience. A tribal woman in her 30s came to him with a very sick baby. The boy was severely malnourished and needed to be hospitalized. However, the mother, who was recently widowed and had no one to care for her other children in her home, refused to admit the child.
“The child will die,” Ashish warned.
“So be it,” she replied. “I have four other children to take care of and feed.”
Ashish was shocked, but realized he had no other choice. The mother and child left, and the child died. But the incident motivated Ashish to work on child nutrition issues with a sense of urgency.
He realized that he and his wife could not serve the 250,000 inhabitants of the region. He also realized that many deaths were not related to lack of food, but to poor hygiene.
Following the ideas of Dr. Abhay Bang, they trained tribal women to serve as village health workers, educating and supporting families with nutrition and hygiene education, primary health care, and nursing support.
Ashish also encouraged villagers to start home gardens. He funneled government and community aid to village soup kitchens and got city experts to teach village women tasty recipes using local vegetables and grains. These have reduced malnutrition and mortality, and have won recognition and awards from Dr. Satav.
When I met Dr. Ashish Satav, his humility, frank manner and commitment moved me beyond words. He shared amazing experiences in a nonchalant manner. For example, when his wife Kavita had a difficult delivery and saved the child, they discovered that the mother could not produce breast milk to feed the child.
As a nursing mother, Dr. Kavita feels half of her own milk to feed the baby, who is now a healthy boy. As a result, the couple created a program that encourages nursing mothers to donate some of their milk to help save other babies.
While it is shocking to realize the stark and initial contrast between the India we experience in our cities and the sorry state of affairs just a few hundred miles away, it is also encouraging and inspiring to see people like Ashish and Kavita working with great commitment. to address and resolve these problems. The least we can do is support them in any way we can.
