The CSR initiative to reach out to 12,000+ tribals in Jawhar region; AMHU showcased to shareholders at AGM
India CSR News Network
MUMBAI: Hinduja Global Solutions Limited (HGS), in partnership with P. D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, today announced that they would offer Advance Mobile Health Unit (AMHU) services, which will provide healthcare and advanced medical technology in remote and rural areas of Maharashtra. The AMHU will cover about 175 kms across the tribal villages in Jawhar and Mohkada talukas of Palghar district in Maharashtra, including the villages of Nyahale Khurd, Botadpada, Sakharshet, Bhagada, Morchapada in Jawahar Taluka and Dolara and Palshund in Mohkada Taluka.
The primary objective of the AMHU initiative is to ensure equal access of health services to rural and tribal population, irrespective of location and socio-economic standards of living. These units, which will visit the villages for four days every week, are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, basic diagnostic and curative facilities that will support the programme’s objective of directly addressing a population of over 12,000 villagers from in and around these villages.
HGS and P.D Hinduja Hospital (under the aegis of National Health & Education Society) have worked together to design the AMHU, which can overcome infrastructural barriers to provide free-of-cost healthcare services in remote areas.
The AMHU was showcased to HGS’ shareholders on the sidelines of the company AGM held on 21 September, 2016 in Mumbai.
Ramkrishan P Hinduja, Chairman, HGS said: “The consequences of illness are often debilitating, both physically and economically, especially in rural India. The idea behind AMHU is not to merely diagnose diseases and cure them but to also help improve the quality of life index of the country by enabling better prevention. We aim to provide regular preventive health checks and health education, and also expand nutrition supplementation in the rural government schools for over 500 school children every day.”
The P.D. Hinduja Hospital family, driven by the Chairman Shri. S. P. Hinduja, initiated the – “Serve with Passion” Rural Health programme in September, 2011. Mr. Hinduja on his 75th birthday (in 2010) declared that to improve access to healthcare a fleet of mobile healthcare units will be introduced in Maharashtra.
Talking about the need of such programmes, Usha Raheja, Trustee, P. D. Hinduja Hospital said, “Accessibility of quality health services to the poor, particularly in rural areas still needs significant improvement and therefore, we as a healthcare provider felt the need to drive our best possible services to them. Our Rural Health Programme goes beyond just providing medication – it also addresses the root cause of the ailments. We tackle disease with a holistic approach which includes curative, preventive, promotive and rehabilitative care.”
Serve with Passion Rural Health programme today serves more than 50,000 tribal population of approximately 300 padas / villages of Jawhar Taluka, Palghar District, Maharashtra & Union Territory of Dadra Nagar Haveli. The Mobile Health unit (MHU) fleet, which works in Hub and Spoke model, today operates 1 AMHU (Advanced Mobile Health Unit) and 7 BMHUs (Basic Mobile Health Units), including Specialty vans – one for Gynecology to address women health issues and one for Ophthalmology to address eye related problems of the population.).
The mobile healthcare units comprise of a medical officer, nurse, lab technician, radiology technician, Physiotherapists, medical social worker, cleaner/attendant, and a driver. An integral part of the program is the continuous health and hygiene education, nutrition and sanitation programs in Schools and Anganwadis. It is supported by periodic specialist consultation camps in the villages. Around 60 camps have been conducted till date by P D Hinduja Hospital Doctors in these areas with about 94,000 patient visits till date.
India’s healthcare spending at approx. five percent is the lowest among BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations, as are its health indicators. A staggering 70 percent of the population still lives in rural areas and has no or limited access to hospitals and clinics. The doctor-to-patient ratio for rural India, as per the Health Ministry statistics, stands at 1:30,000, well below the WHO’s recommended 1:1,000.
The AMHU initiative is the latest addition to the numerous CSR initiatives undertaken by HGS over the last two years in the fields of education, healthcare and skill development. The company has partnered with several leading NGOs with the objective to provide educational support, skill development and healthcare benefits to the economically underprivileged children and youth. These include: A partnership with Akshay Patra Foundation to provide mid-day meals to 6,000 children, with a focus to eradicate malnutrition and hunger and promote primary education; and a tie-up with Magic Bus India Foundation to leverage sports to take 5,000 children and 1,800 youth on a journey from childhood to a meaningful and sustainable livelihood. HGS also provides scholarships to over 250 students across India via the Hinduja Foundation.
