Social Development under National Health Mission in collaboration with State Health Systems Resource Centre-Kerala has responded to health care access challenges faced transgender people in Kerala by developing a novel initiative, the ‘Transgender Community Link Worker (TG-CLW) Programme’ aimed at improving health care and delivery for this marginalized group. Under this initiative, a member from the transgender community has been selected to act as a bridge between the trans community and healthcare centres like District and General hospitals (DH, GH). This arrangement is expected to foster better communication, understanding and trust between the trans community and the health care system, and ultimately lead to improved health outcomes. The programme is being piloted in four districts of Kerala currently- Trivandrum, Ernakulam, Trichur and Kozhikode. The Community Link Worker Programme aligns with the principles of community-based participatory research, which emphasizes the importance of engaging communities in the design and implementation of health interventions. By empowering a member of the trans community to act as a liaison, this initiative recognizes the unique experiences and perspectives of the trans

community and incorporates these into the health care system. It is a critical step towards addressing the health care needs of the community and promoting social and health equity. Training for the CLWs were devised ensuring inclusion of gender-affirmative and gender sensitive healthcare delivery mechanisms. These were devised following a participatory consultative method wherein members of the community were pooled in as the prime experts for providing insights into the development of the module apart from other healthcare professionals who were experts in their fields.