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India accounts for 27 percent of the total TB cases in the world, according to the recently released Global TB Report 2023 by the World Health Organisation. Almost 28.2 lakh people in India got tuberculosis in 2022 with an estimated incidence rate of 199 cases per 100,000 population. India has set a target of eliminating tuberculosis by 2025 and the national strategic plan 2017-2025 sets the target to not more than 44 new TB cases per lakh population by 2025. There is a higher inclination of the TB patients to undergo treatment from the public places.

With this backdrop, SIGMA Foundation in association with SFCSDF is conducting a study across 10 Chest Clinics of Kolkata and their sub units with patients seeking treatment for tuberculosis from these clinics. The study has commenced from 11th December, 2023 and is expected to continue till the end of this month. The study titled “Understanding the status of Tuberculosis and its associated factors in Kolkata, West Bengal” will identify socio-economic, household and behavioural factors other than contextual factors associated with TB prevalence. It will also delineate the treatment pathways (health seeking behaviour, knowledge level, treatment adherence etc.) of the patients in addition to cost factors, Quality of life, stigma and challenges faced in day-to day life.

Date: 5 December, 2023
This November SIGMA Foundation has been engaged as the Implementation Support Agency (ISA) by Public Health Engineering Directorate, Govt. of West Bengal for implementation of community mobilization and capacity building activities at Darjeeling and Kalimpong Districts in West Bengal for implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). JJM is being implemented in the said two districts by the Neorakhola Water Supply and Maintenance Division of the PHED, West bengal. It is an immense opportunity for SIGMA Foundation to be a part of implementation of JJM in the said two districts and reach out to the communities within the project areas. SIGMA Foundation is already working as ISA in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra for the last two years.

Date: 14 September 2023
SIGMA Foundation was engaged by the PHED West Bengal to be the NGO Contractor under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) assisted WBDWSIP for the district of Bankura. The period of engagement was from June 2019 to December 2022 and the project value was around Rs 1.41 crore.
SIGMA Foundation has successfully prepared and implemented the CAPP (Community Awareness and Participation Plan) and GESI (Gender Equality and Social Inclusion) Plan, which included primary survey and analysis of data. For generating community awareness on the project and associated issues related to water, extensive IEC materials were developed and disseminated. VWSCs (Village Water & Sanitation Committees) were established and made functional in all the 31 GPs of the 4 blocks covered under the project. Training modules were prepared for building capacity of the GP/VWSC functionaries, community members, school students. Training of 478 GP members (with 42.2% female participation) were conducted on AMSDF (Asset Management Service Delivery Framework). 418 VWSC members were oriented amongst which 51.7% were female participants and 38.1% belonged to vulnerable section. Leadership and livelihood training was imparted to 500 community members (49.6% female). A total of 9,173 community members were reached through 124 Master Trainers and awareness was generated on water conservation, demand management and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene). Training programme on climate change on water conservation was conducted in 31 schools, one from each of the 31 GPs, in which 1240 students (45% girls) participated.
The first Water Security & Safety Plan (WSSP) of the country was prepared for Brahmandiha GP of Indpur block by the experts of SIGMA Foundation under this project. The WSSP was presented before a global audience through a virtual platform in the first E market place event organized by ADB in 2021. SIGMA Foundation got the “Certificate of Appreciation” from ADB Manila for this achievement.

Procedures were developed for giving house connection and day to day operation and preventive and breakdown maintenance. Support was also extended for the Smart Water Management and setting up Customer Care Centres at the GP offices.

The draft and final report was submitted as per schedule.

Date: 10th August, 2023

Mica is a mineral which is used vastly in electrical products, automobiles, paint, toothpaste and cosmetics. Koderma and Giridih districts of Jharkhand and Nawada and Jamui districts of Bihar are richly endowed with good quality mica deposits. Bal Mitra Gram (BMG)^TM or Child Friendly Village (CFV)^TM model of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF) is essentially a 3-5 years preventive and a curative strategy aimed at creating a child friendly world, where every child is free from exploitation, receives education, recreation and health facilities, their voices are heard and participation is ensured in an environment of friendliness, rights and dignity in the community. Since 2005, KSCF has been working in the mica villages of Bihar and Jharkhand.  The programme’s primary goal is to contribute to making mica mining in Jharkhand and Bihar child-labour-free, ensure children’s access to education, form Bal Panchayats (Children’s Council) to take up their issues of protection, health and education and ensure its institutionalisation through recognition of the Gram Panchayat (Village Council).

Since 2005, KSCF has been working in the mica villages of Bihar and Jharkhand.  The programme’s primary goal is to contribute to making mica mining in Jharkhand and Bihar child-labour-free, ensure children’s access to education, form Bal Panchayats (Children’s Council) to take up their issues of protection, health and education and ensure its institutionalisation through recognition of the Gram Panchayat (Village Council).

SIGMA Foundation was assigned to do the impact documentation of the Bal Mitra Gram programme in mica mining villages of Jharkhand and Bihar. The main objective of the study was to examine the extent to which the intervention of “Bal Mitra Gram” program has brought the meaningful results as per the envisaged theory of change for the children, their parents and associated communities. The study was majorly based on primary data following a qualitative research method approach.  16 FGDs, 40 IDIs were conducted and 5 case studies were recorded from across Koderma and Giridih in Jharkhand, Nawada and Jamui (as comparison districts) in Bihar.

Date: 3^rd August 2023

There is need to ensure that the large adolescent population in India (253.2 million) reach their full potential and productivity for the growth and development of the country. This idea is embedded in the launch of the Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) programme by the GoI, under the ‘National Adolescent Health Strategy’ in 2014, which recognizes the need for the holistic development of adolescents. RKSK is addresses the current and the anticipated needs of the adolescents in six priority areas- Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH), nutrition, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), substance abuse, injuries and violence (including gender-based violence) and mental health.

Centre for Catalyzing Change (C3), a leading NGO, has been facilitating the implementation of RKSK in Bhadrak district of Odisha. Under the project intervention, 5,500 Peer Groups have been formed with adolescent boys and girls in the age group of 10-19 years, and 178 Adolescent Friendly Clubs have been formed whose members meet at Health Sub Centre of that area each month.

SIGMA Foundation conducted an “Endline Assessment of Strengthening Implementation of Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) Program In Bhadrak District, Odisha”. The study has been conducted in two districts of Odisha – Bhadrak (Intervention) and Kendrapara (Comparison), following a mixed methods approach, including quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. From each district, four blocks were selected from where boys and girls in the age group 10 to 21 years were selected through a purposive sampling. 1,625 quantitative interviews were collected with adolescents (826 girls and 799 boys) and qualitative interviews include 8 FGDs, 27 IDIs and 4 case studies.

The report was submitted to C3 within the due date.

Date: 2nd August, 2023

SIGMA Foundation conducted “Baseline Study and Training Need Assessment of Anganwadi Supervisors and Anganwadi Workers for Implementation of Targeted Counselling During 1000 Days Window.” In order to improve the maternal and child health care, Government of Assam, have organized and improved the service delivery to mothers and infants along the continuum of care across life cycle including access to health facilities. Data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-2021 revealed that the nutritional status of children and its critical determinants such as exclusive breastfeeding, early initiation of breastfeeding and adequate complementary feeding has not shown much improvement in the recent years.

ITC Mission Sunehra Kal, as a development partner, collaborated with the Directorate of Women & Child Development, Govt of Assam to demonstrate the Prevention of Malnutrition in eight districts of Assam through working with Anganwadi workers on strengthening their capacity for home-based targeted counselling, especially during the first 1000 days through digital counselling tools and counselling aids. The interventions on the ground will be conducted by the YouthInvest Foundation. Before initiation of the formal intervention, YouthInvest Foundation wanted to conduct a baseline study as well as Training Need Assessment (TNA with Anganwadi Supervisors and Anganwadi Workers). This study is a part of the MoU signed between ITC and the Directorate of Women & Child Development, Govt of Assam.

The study was undertaken across eight districts of Assam namely Baksa, Barpeta, Dhubri, Darrang, Goalpara, Kamrup, Hailakandi and Udalguri during April 26^th and May 4^th, 2023. Household survey was conducted with 320 mothers/primary caregivers of under-two children (40 from each of the districts) across the eight districts. Physical survey was conducted with 10 AWSs and 20 AWWs in each of the districts within the selected sector (One ICDS sector from each block with the highest prevalence of malnourishment in under-five children was selected for the study/interventions). Thus, in total, 80 AWSs and 160 AWWs were reached through physical survey. Moreover, 518 AWSs and 11,533 AWWs were reached through online survey. Eight focus group discussions were also carried out with AWWs. The report on the study findings was submitted to YouthInvest Foundation.

Guwahati, 3rd July, 2023 – SIGMA Foundation conducted a study on Status of Child Trafficking in North Eastern State on being engaged by North East Diocesan Social Service Society (NEDSSS) with support from Catholic Relief Services (CRS). The study brought out an overall situation on child trafficking in the seven Nort-Eastern states of India using secondary data. That was followed by a primary survey-based assessment of the situation on child trafficking in Assam. The 4 P approach (Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership) promoted by UNICEF was used as the framework of the study and the Protective Environment Framework followed by UNICEF in understanding child trafficking was also used to get better insights from the study. Qualitative data was collected from key officials of the state government, Gram Panchayat functionaries, NGOs working in this field and community members using tools like KIIs and FGDs.
The report was disseminated in a workshop (named In Solidarity Against Child Trafficking) organized by NEDSSS in their campus at Guwahati on the 3rd July, 2023. The Director and other officials of NEDSSS, the Executive Director of CRS along with Head of Programme Ms Vijaylakshmi Arora and other officials of CRS, representatives from the State Child Protection Society (SCPS), Department of Women & Child Development, Govt. of Assam, UNICEF Assam Field Office, DLSA Kamrup district participated in the programme. Several reputed NGOs like Save the Children, CRY, NEDAN Foundation, SNEHALAY, UTSAH, and many others working in the field of child protection in Assam also participated in the workshop.
The report of SIGMA Foundation was presented before the participants by Dr M.N.Roy, President of the organization. This was followed by two panel discussions – one on ‘Inclusive Approaches to Combat Child Trafficking and Wellbeing for All’ and the other on ‘Strengthening Systems for Child Protection: Collaboration and Sustainable Solutions’. The discussions covered the key issues and challenges related to child trafficking and brought out good insights in planning suitable interventions for combating child trafficking in Assam.

23/06/2023 – Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI), established in 1901, organized a Special Session with Shri Binod Kumar, IAS, Municipal Commissioner, KMC on ‘KMC’s Vision & Strategy: E-Governance, Ease of Doing Business and Solid Waste Management’ on 23rd June, 2023 at the Conference Hall of the Chamber. SIGMA Foundation was invited by the Chamber to join in this important session and on its behalf, Ms. Sonia Nandi attended the session. After an introduction and welcome address by the members of MCCI, the session began with the Commissioner dwelling on various issues being faced by businesses and citizens of Kolkata regarding governance of KMC ending with a special presentation on Solid Waste Management. As per the presentation, Kolkata is producing nearly 4500 MT of solid waste daily which is being collected by KMC and getting disposed in the trenching grounds of Dhapa and Garden Reach. KMC has already started collecting segregated waste after IEC from citizens and is processing some of that in the Compost Plant at Dhapa and has plans to build a Waste to Energy Plant as well. On further enquiry, Shri Binod Kumar said that he is willing to listen to more such waste management ideas either in person or forwarded through the Chamber for future endeavours.

05/06/2023 – SIGMA Foundation observes World Environment Day, 2023 by conducting a state level consultation on Climate Change Impact at Nijalay, PHED. The eminent officials present were Mr. Surendra Gupta , ( IAS), Principal Secretary, PHED, Mr. Prabhat Kumar Misra(IAS), Principal Secretary, Department of Irrigation & Waterways and WRIDD, Mrs. Sandhya Yadav, Scientist E, CGWB, Eastern Region, Mr. Mohammad Mohiuddin, Chief of Field Office, UNICEF, Mr. Manish Wasuja , UNICEF, ICO, Dr. M. N. Roy, President, SIGMA Foundation, Mr. Ayyaapa Masagi, Founder, Water Literacy Foundation, Dr. Pragyan Bharti, WASH Specialist, UNICEF and Dr. Animesh Bhattacharya, Chief Engineer, HQ, PHED, West Bengal along with other 25 water researchers and professionals from various departments. The workshop was attended by Discussions focussed on impact of climate change on irrigation practices in West Bengal, sustainability of drinking water sources in the context of Jal Shakti Abhiyan. A constructive light was thrown on Role of UNICEF in action for Climate Change and Environment Sustainability. The National priorities on source sustainability and O&M as a measure to address resilient drinking water supply services. Key findings of Water Security Plans for Purulia District and other lessons learnt from field were put forth in the forum. A detailed discussion was done on local solutions, ground water recharge options and best practices from other states. The way forward was critically analysed by PHED, UNICEF and SIGMA Foundation.

We strive to fulfil the theme of 2023, “Ecosystem Restoration” though our conjoint contribution

30/05/2023 – SIGMA Foundation is a pioneer in innovative application of Information & Communication Technology for monitoring various programmes and processes, including those for the water supply sector. It has developed a Digital Water Supply Monitoring System (DWSMS) for (i) monitoring the water supply service parameters like (i) pressure of water, (ii) residual chlorine level, (iii) pH, (iv) TDS, (v) turbidity and (vi) iron present in the supplied water. The parameters are measured by appropriate sensors and the data is transmitted by the IOTs fitted at the origin of water supply (pump house) and the consumer point. The data is automatically captured and transmitted twice every day (morning and afternoon after onset of the supply) into a web-based system for processing and displaying the result in a dashboard. One can easily visualize the service quality and whether that meets the norm. A snapshot of the dashboard is shown below.

This has been implemented as a pilot in Joypur Gram Panchayat of Amta II block of Howrah district with support from UNICEF and Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). The officials concerned can view the dashboard and take corrective measures, in case of any shortfall in service quality.

There is also a grievance redressal App which can be installed in the Android run mobile phone of any consumer to register complaint. A consumer database has been created in the system to enable them to register complaint after logging into the system. The system tracks progress of disposal of the complaints and the consumer is also kept updated of the progress.

Another very important feature of the App is that the registered consumers can share any observation on pipe leakage/ pipe burst or water wastage from the pipeline/valves etc. They have to take a geo- tagged photo and share the same through the App for displaying the same in the dashboard. This will be of immense help to the authority in charge of O&M to immediately know the problem for taking appropriate measure. This facility provides a unique opportunity to strengthen community watch on the pipeline which leads to better service quality and prevention of waste of water.

The system is going to be hosted in PHED server for its better use by the PHED.