Bihar Voluntary Health Association (BVHA) is a Secular and non-profit making organization. It is an association of Social Development Organisations, Charitable Hospitals and Health Centres. It is formed in the year 1969 by Fr. James Stuart Tong and Medical Mission Sisters with a noble vision to assist in making community health a reality for the people with priority for the less privileged millions and got registered in February 1970 under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 at Patna, Bihar. Since inception it has been working on health improvement of Bihar through community health promotion for last five decades.
Presently, BVHA is an association of 152 member Organizations of Charitable Hospitals and Health Centers/clinics run by church based institutions, Grass-root CSOs, and more than 300 associated non-member organizations, covering all the 38 districts of Bihar.
It has been formed with an aim to increase their organizational capacities and to address the health and social needs of the communities. BVHA is one of the pioneers in the domain of Voluntary Health Association in India in India. BVHA has been contributing immensely by providing impetus and direction to the Community Health Promotion in the State of Bihar.
During the initial years BVHA was mainly involved with the hospitals and relief activities during the natural calamities. Gradually it stepped down to the grass-root level NGOs and put effort to make a network of voluntary organizations directly associated with the mass and responding to their health needs with the involvement of large network of 152 members and more than 270 associate non-member voluntary organizations at present. Now BVHA not only conducts relief but also actively involved in capacity building programmes of voluntary organizations and developing model programmes for the major health problems e.g. Sexual & Reproductive health and rights, Mother and Child Health, Malnutrition among women and children, youth development, prevention of vector-borne and water-borne diseases, communicable and non-communicable diseases, school health, eye health in school and urban slums, prevention of early marriage, WASH & menstrual hygiene management, child trafficking and child rights protection, gender based violence etc.
Philosophy: BVHA’s philosophy is to make the community health a reality for the people of Bihar by initiating and strengthening peoples organizations. Its major thrust is to develop the organizations so as to promote people’s action for responding to their need.
Vision: BVHA assists in making community health a reality for all the people of Bihar with priority for the less privileged millions, with their involvement & participation through the voluntary health sector.
Mission: The mission is to reach to the un-reached through Charitable Hospitals, Dispensaries, Health Centers & Voluntary Organizations/Institutions involved in health promotion and also groups, professionals & individuals engaged & dedicated with some concern in health promotion of the people of Bihar with priority for the less privileged millions with their involvement and participation through the Voluntary Health Sector.
Goal : Goal of the BVHA is to have a healthy community through community health action, by promoting social justice in the provision & distribution of health care. Mainly BVHA’s strategies in addressing the BVHA’s objectives are by doing Advocacy (with Govt. Dept. and other stakeholders), networking (with likeminded CSOs and international development agencies) and support to communities, grass-root CSOs and Govt. stakeholders by capacity building, resource mobilization, community mobilization etc.