Community-based organizations in public health: Microcredit and its applications in improvement of family health

The concept of using microcredit and small loan allocation to alleviate poverty among small business owners can be traced back to the 18^th century. In recent times the microcredit and its applications to improve family health by empowering women has captured the attention of major stakeholders in the global arena. A pioneering institution in microcredit application is the Grameen Bank which was founded in 1976 by Nobel laureate Mohammed Yunus. This enterprise has helped thousands of women to become self sufficient and contributed to improving their family’s health and standard of living. It has helped to improve the nutritional, social and educational status of women and children in Bangladesh. This presentation will describe in brief the Grameen Bank and SEWA which have been at the forefront of promoting women s health and rights.  SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) is a community-based organization has been playing a major role in empowering many disenfranchised working and women in India. The concept of SEWA is unique in that while organizing women and supporting them in building their own workers’ organizations, it has also identified issues of gender based discrimination and has mobilized campaigns to address these issues. Some of these issues which have specifically catered to the challenges faced by working women and have resulted in success are the i) campaign for rights to childcare at workplace, and ii) right to a minimum wage. This presentation will highlight the importance of microcredit applications in improving the health of communities in developing countries by increasing awareness, providing educational opportunities and providing socio economic empowerment for women. This presentation will also highlight the pivotal role played by women globally in building healthy communities