Our History
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CHSJ was established in 2005 soon after the UPA 1 Government came into power in India. The coalition government adopted a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) with a strong focus on addressing the needs of the poor of the country. The government also established an advisory mechanism for seeking inputs from the civil society. CHSJ emerged through a series of consultations among experienced development sector professionals and public health experts for influencing public policy and services to further health and social justice. Health Equity and Governance became the first thematic focus of CHSJ along with Reproductive Health and Rights which was a thrust of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) that was being developed the government. CHSJ received support from SAHAYOG, a non-profit organisation based in Uttar Pradesh and Population Foundation of India (PFI), a Delhi based support organisation, to establish its credentials. Subsequently CHSJ started working on Men and Gender Equality, taking forward the pioneering work that the leadership in CHSJ had started while they were working in SAHAYOG, UP. In 2018 CHSJ started working on Women’s Leadership and Rights in Kolkata. Over the last fifteen years the work of CHSJ can be broadly described in three phases.
The 1st Phase extended from 2005 to 2010 when CHSJ brought together experience from the field work over the last decade or more to influence policy processes. The mission of the organisation was “to promote human development, gender equality, human rights and social justice with specific reference to the field health, in its widest interpretation”. An organisational review process was undertaken at the end of five years and the mission, operations and effectiveness were reviewed and revised.
The 2nd Phase extended between 2010 – 2015 when CHSJ started engaging more closely at the community level. The mission of the organisation was revised to supporting community level groups and organisations to strengthen the operations of equitable, gender-just, and accountable public systems in India with a focus on health. At the same time CHSJ started leveraging knowledge learnt from community experiences to other practitioners and public policy.
The 3rd Phase was between 2015 – 20. The overall mission of the organisation was revised after review to building capacity among individuals and organisations who work directly with communities to change unequal gender relations and support marginalised communities so that they are able to access public goods and services and strengthen governance. CHSJ initiated work on women’s rights and leadership in Kolkata. CHSJ also engaged in developing learning partnerships and communities of practice among civil society and other stakeholders, strengthening the bridges between community experiences, knowledge production and public policy.