iTV Foundation and Reckitt Benckiser India to invest Rs 15 Crore each for the health drive
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath today inaugurates a two-day health checkup camp (18th -19th August) against Japanese encephalitis in Maharajganj district of Uttar Pradesh. The health camp was organized by iTV Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) wing of the iTV Network, India’s fastest growing media & infotainment network. The camp was supported by Reckitt Benckiser India (RB), world’s leading consumer Health and Hygiene Company. In an announcement made during the inauguration function, iTV Foundation and Reckitt Benckiser announced to invest Rs 15 crores each for the health drive mission. Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, also met the encephalitis patients and interacted with their kin, present at the health camp.
Held at ITM College, Chehari, Farenda-Maharaganj Road, Maharajganj, several dignitaries including: Shri Amar Nath Upadhaya, District Magistrate, Maharajganj; Shri Kartikeya Sharma, Founder & Promoter iTV Network; Shri Vinay Srivastav, Chairman, KMC Digital Hospital; Dr. R. P. Tripathi, Vice President, Indian Medical Association, Uttar Pradesh and Mr. Ravi Bhatnagar, Director- External Affairs & Partnership (AMESA) , Reckitt Benckiser India were present during the health camp inauguration ceremony.
During the health camp Reckitt Benckiser India, under the flagship Dettol Banega Swasth India introduces a program with ASHA workers, focused on enhancing awareness and bringing behavioral change in families to prevent diarrhea in the cities of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Engagement with children and their families is a crucial component of this program hence it commits to train 2, 50,000 local ASHA workers who will act as educating agents/frontline health workers propelling the importance of sanitation and hygiene as a regular practice. The ASHA workers will introduce hand wash by Dettol as accessibility of product is highly imperative to practice sanitation. RB will also set up missed call IVR services in UP to ensure counselling and guidance as and when required. The partnership program was also supported by Jagran Pehel.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath, while inaugurating the camp said “I would like to congratulate iTV Foundation for their positive mission to fight and eradicate the deadly. From past forty years thousands of children have died due to Japanese encephalitis, previous government and authorities have failed to take action in this regard that resulted in a massive outbreak. But we started a revolution to eradicate the disease. We have created an internal committee for taking several measures and precautionary steps, free medical facilities will be provided to encephalitis patients. Health ministry also did training sessions with nursing staff, paramedics and ASHA workers.
Further he added that, “The mortality rate of encephalitis patients have been reduced in recent times. There is a strong need to create awareness against the disease, as healthy people will make a healthy nation.”
Speaking about the health camp, Sh. Kartikeya Sharma, Founder & Promoter, iTV Network said “Our mission is to provide better health facilities and create awareness about health and hygiene amongst the people in the remote areas. Japanese encephalitis is a deadly disease and it is important to eradicate the disease and take precautionary measures, we are aiming to organise more such camps in future which benefits the people of our country.”
Mr. Ravi Bhatnagar, Director- External Affairs & Partnership (AMESA) , Reckitt Benckiser India, said, “Health is the catalyst to social change and one of the most critical areas of empowerment for young children. RB with a vision to create awareness around Sanitation and health embarks ASHA program which will engage with children in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The objective is to provide mobile based health awareness and education service in the space of diarrhea prevention and ASHA community and capacity building with content consumption and gratification.”
During the camp, large number of people from the district and nearby villages availed the facilities from morning till evening, a specialized team of doctors of KMC Digital hospital in Maharajganj including pediatrician, lung specialists, gynecologists, general physicians and trained nursing staff of Indian Medical Association (IMA) were present to examine the patients and the doctors provide medical consultation and distributed free medicines to the patients. The dedicated team of iTV Foundation supported and managed the on-ground activities of the health camp and also created awareness about the Japanese encephalitis in the district.