REGIONAL INITIATIVES

Pahel

DP World has been working with the Centre for Health, Education, Training & Nutrition Awareness (CHETNA) since 2015 to empower children, adolescent girls, lactating mothers, pregnant women and truck drivers across 50 villages in and around Mundra. We have refurbished Anganwadi Centres, built capacities of frontline health workers, and catered to the nutrition, health and pre-education needs of children till six years of age as well as the health and nutrition of women and adolescent girls. Leveraging the potential of public health systems, we seek to strengthen access to maternal and neonatal health services such as immunization of newborn babies and counseling on maternal nutrition, routine antenatal, post-natal and neonatal care. 

A key component of the program has been to have well-functioning Anganwadi Centres, as a number of community-based activities are facilitated through these centres. As part of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), Anganwadis play a crucial role in supporting households, particularly from low-income families, by providing childcare, health and nutrition, education, supplementary nutrition, immunization, health check-ups, and referral services.  

Maintaining infrastructure of these centres, especially in areas such as flooring, roofing, kitchen and sanitation facilities, is of prime importance. Since 2015, DP World has refurbished 69 Anganwadi Centres. We have also tried to make the centres child-friendly by making them visually attractive through the use of colorful paintings and pictorial depiction of alphabets and numbers on the wall. Learning material has been provided to improve the motor and cognitive skills of children and prepare them for formal education. Trees have been planted around the Anganwadis.

During the pandemic, CHETNA leveraged its long-term community relationships in the villages to raise awareness on the importance of using sanitizers, wearing masks, and maintaining physical distance to stay protected from the coronavirus. These campaigns were conducted in regional languages using multiple communication channels. By using step-by-step informative posters, street plays and online sessions, we have encouraged Covid-appropriate behavior, tackled vaccine hesitancy, and helped in registering the residents on the government’s online portal CoWin.

Mundra Institute of Medical Science

Good health and wellbeing is one of the major areas where we are striving to make quality healthcare accessible to rural communities. The Mundra Institute of Medical Science is one of our key initiatives, launched in 2016. It was the first super specialty hospital in Mundra and has since been working to improve the healthcare landscape in the region. It is equipped to provide high-quality medical services, transforming the healthcare system in Kutch district. 

Provision of essential medical equipment 

Availability of critical care equipment is crucial while providing best-in-class healthcare services to patients. With the ongoing pandemic, several healthcare facilities across the country need quality equipment to handle critical patients.

DP World identified such healthcare facilities and provided them with various medical equipment such as eight ICU ventilators, 34 portable ventilators, three multi-para monitors for critical patients, three hospital beds, and an ultra sonogram machine.

This initiative is part of DP World’s continuous efforts to help underprivileged and vulnerable communities and support resilience building against recurrent shocks and stresses to the health system.

Mobile medical vans

Working to strengthen accessibility and availability of primary healthcare services, DP World operates five Mobile Medical Vans in collaboration with the Wockhardt Foundation. Our five Mobile Medical Vans have been operating across villages in Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Chennai to provide free medical check-ups and medication at the doorsteps of the larger community. Each van provides health screening and free basic health services to close to 20,000+ people annually. Equipped with an MBBS doctor, driver and a van coordinator, along with the necessary medicines and diagnostic kits, these vans provide treatment for basic illnesses like cough, cold, fever, infection, malaria, dengue, typhoid and hepatitis. The program also creates awareness about basic health requirements in terms of sanitation, hygiene, safe drinking water, anemia, mother and child healthcare, tuberculosis, diabetes, etc. The initiative has significantly increased the number of patients diagnosed and subsequently increased the treatment for certain chronic conditions, and has also contributed to better health outcomes.

Eco-friendly stoves

DP World has distributed 100 eco-friendly stoves to families residing in the villages of Chuchrungpur and Daundiyatola. These villages are situated in the buffer zone of Kanha Tiger Reserve. Both villages are inhabited by the Baiga and Gond communities, who are significantly dependent on the forest, especially for firewood. We are pleased to see a large number of families using the stoves as well as sharing positive feedback.

BUDS Rehabilitation Centre

A part of our collaboration with the Mulavukad Gram Panchayat in Cochin, the BUDS Rehabilitation Centre in Ponnarimangalam seeks to cater to the intellectual challenges of specially abled children, and also provides day care to senior citizens in the range of 65-86 years of age in the district. The BUDS Rehabilitation Centre is equipped with a public library with a reading room, computers, and skill and vocational development equipment for specially abled children, and a wheelchair, accessible ramp, and recreation and skill development equipment for senior citizens.

Provision of drinking water systems and bio-toilets

We have installed drinking water systems and bio-toilets in communities and schools to address potable water requirements and sanitation needs. This initiative does not just impact the health parameters – since it addresses a fundamental need, it also impacts other parameters like household expenses, educational outcomes, gender equity, etc.

• 54 individual household toilets in Chennai
• Installation of 18 bio-toilets in schools and for communities in Ahmedabad, Raigad and Panipat
• Installation of drinking water units in schools and in communities in Raigad, Satara, Ahmedabad and Panipat