The Nagaland Voluntary Health Association (NVHA) is a non-profit voluntary registered society (Regd. No. 2701 dated 11.08.1994). Membership to the association is open to all, regardless of caste, creed, language and religion. It is a secular, non-political and non-religious organisation.

 Nagaland Voluntary Health Association came into being on 1st June, 1994 at the initiative of social workers and like-minded individuals who realized the need of community participation in health activities and distribution of the state. The Association has eventually been registered under Foreign Contribution Registration Act ( FCRA Regd. No - 164730036 dated 10th March 1999).

 The headquarters of the Association is at Kohima. Two Health Sub-Centres- one at Botsa, a small township 40 kms from Kohima and another at Rükizu (Pfutsero) in Phek District serve as branches and provides primary health care besides serving as training centres. Medical personnel are placed at these Sun-Centres. An Immunization Centre has recently been opened at Kohima.

 Area of operation of Nagaland VHA is the entire state of Nagaland. Focused interventions, which include health service delivery, in addition to health service delivery, such as, women’s organisation and their empowerment, income generation for women, school health, safe drinking water and sanitation etc.

 The main objective of the Association is to promote and improve community health, social justice and human rights related to the provision and distribution of health services through the active participation and involvement of the community even in decision-making. It aims to supplement and compliment the health services of the government by strengthening these services through  mobilization of the community making health ‘a people’s health movement’. Emphasis is laid on the promotive, preventive and rehabilitative aspect of health while improving the curative aspect especially Primary Health Care. It also aspires to develop a network of organizations, community groups and institutions in the rural areas that would be able to address health on a common and collective platform in the right perspective.

 The Association achieves these aims through health services/camps, campaigns, public advocacy and awareness, need-based training for field level health workers, publication, production and distribution of health education materials and improvement of living standards of people especially of the rural areas, women, widows and unprivileged sections  of the society. Modern and traditional method of health service is combined with  public support, response, action and initiation and utilization of local resources.

 The Association has been striving vigorously to promote health awareness among the people of Nagaland, to whom access to health services is difficult owing to a very difficult topography and a very thin distribution of population over large hilly area.

 The strategy adopted by the Nagaland VHA, is to develop a network of NGOs and build up their capacities in implementation of health programmes as well as in general aspects of NGO as well as project management so that skilled and trained persons are available locally in the villages for emergencies, treatment of minor ailments as well as to impart an ongoing health education to the people. Its interventions in health and community development are pioneering in the state, which has otherwise very little NGO activity.

The main objectives of Nagaland VHA cover the followings:

 ·        To promote people’s health movement through effective community health promotion and networking of various bodies such as NGOs, Village Councils, youth and women’s organisations etc.

·        To promote health for all with the special emphasis on the low income groups in rural areas.

·        To promote community  participation in all that which pertains to promotion, preservation and improvement of health.

·        To promote health in all its aspects, e.g., physical, mental, social and spiritual.

·        To promote good working relations between the voluntary sector in health care and various departments of the government.

·        To promote cooperation with the government in providing health care, especially at the primary level.

·        Human resource development through training programmes on various specific and general health issues.

·        Health awareness and health education, through campaigns, trainings etc.

·        Research and documentation.

·        IEC Development.