Indu Capoor

In 1992 Indu Capoor started Centre for Health Education Training and Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA) in Ahmedabad. CHETNA works to promote the health, rights and empowerment of women, girls, children, youth and rural women, children and youth.

For there to be improvement in nutrition, there must be a complete convergence of knowledge, policy and economics. Until this happens, conditions for women and children will not improve.

The traditional foods which were very nutritious have been replaced and forgotten for cash crops that do not have much nutritious value. A woman’s education and social status is critical to nutrition of a family and herself. To improve nutrition, women’s literacy must be improved.

Indu Capoor has created a full support and change making organization CHETNA. Primarily the organization provides support - medical care and advice, advocacy for women and children, and education, for men and women about the importance of understanding the unique health needs of women. As well as direct intervention and programs, CHETNA conducts regular studies on the health of women, especially rural women, so as to have data to create both policy and social change. They have also published many interactive forms of nutrition education such as booklets, flip cards, audio/visual material and pamphlets.



With Indu’s efforts, women are now taking control of their own health, delaying marriage, and when possible delaying first birth. Furthermore, CHETNA has been garnering the trust of local women because they are able to share information on nutrition and their bodies that not even the local doctors know. Additionally, the research conducted by CHETNA has become the basis of their advocacy. April 11th has now been declared Safe Motherhood Day. Hopefully this will help to bring awareness to the fact that so many mothers, especially in rural areas die to childbirth unnecessarily. To learn more about CHETNA, please click here.