Towards informing policy making through photographs: Island women use photo voice to improve social determinants of child health in Indian Sundarbans

This Photovoice study unlocks mothers’ voices on social determinants of child health to inform community level policy makers in Indian Sundarbans. Children’s access to public health facilities in the region is a challenge, due to inaccessible geography and recent increases in intensity and periodicity of climatic shocks, such as flooding and cyclones. The situation creates a difficult health situation for all – especially children – in the Sundarbans which need collective ground level accord between the health community and local level health and non-health policy makers.

Over 80 women participants belonging to different age, caste and religions with at least one child between 0-6 years of age took 467 photographs to document issues affecting the health of their children. In the fortnightly group meetings, participants identified general social factors impacting children’s health and selected five issues to be presented: – malnutrition, livelihood, Water and Sanitation Hygiene, accessibility and breaching of embankments. The women participants perceived their active engagement in the photo voice project as an empowering experience where they have transformed their traditional role of receiver into a community spokesperson demanding sustainable action for their community issues.