Balconagar, Korba: Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), India’s iconic aluminium producer, has been running woman and child-focused programs in villages of the community. Recently BALCO observed the World Breastfeeding Week sensitize pregnant women and lactating mothers on the importance of breastfeeding for children’s nutrition, and overall development.
Under the aegis of its rural health project ‘Arogya’, BALCO and its NGO partner SROUT, reached out to members of the community with interventions in primary health care and awareness on various seasonal and non-seasonal diseases, with specific emphasis on TB, HIV and maternal & child health.
Aligned to the theme, ‘Protect Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility, awareness sessions were organized in nearby villages to educate pregnant and lactating women and caregivers on appropriate breastfeeding practices.
Abhijit Pati, CEO and Director, BALCO, said, “BALCO has designed and implemented women and child-focused awareness campaigns across villages in the region. We have also collaborated with the government and non-government organizations to increase awareness on breastfeeding to ensure good mother and child health. BALCO’s health interventions have been instrumental in bettering the quality of life of rural communities, especially during COVID. We are committed to providing the best possible healthcare to those in need. I wish the best of health and safety for everyone.”
Shehnaaz Bano, who participated in the awareness programs organized by BALCO, shared her experience and said, “I gained a lot of new and important information, which I did not know before. Thanks to the program, my doubts and questions were also answered, and I feel better prepared to care for my child and myself.”
Under project Aarogya, BALCO has established rural health posts at nearby villages of Chuhiya and Parsabhata in Korba, which benefit more than 22,000 community members. Through these health posts, medicines are being distributed free of cost to the ailing, awareness campaigns on various issues are being conducted by the medical teams and health consultations are being provided.
BALCO has also mobilized its resources and distributed sanitization kits to over 14000 households benefitted around 40,000 people in the community. Each kit includes 5 double-layered masks, a sanitizer and a bar of soap. More than 125 women associated with various self-help groups have stitched 70,000+ masks under BALCO’s CSR Project Unnati, which has given them an additional source of income amid the pandemic.
Bharat Aluminium Company Limited (BALCO) is India’s iconic aluminium producer. It is owned 49% by the Government of India and 51% by Vedanta Limited.
