A healthy population is the cornerstone of sustained inclusive growth and development of a nation. In India, as the country continues to develop, building a resilient healthcare system is essential to support its growing population, ensuring that economic progress is inclusive and sustainable. Access to quality healthcare in rural areas is vital for improving the well-being of underserved communities across the country. A collaborative approach among all stakeholders will strengthen both preventive and curative healthcare.
Healthcare Programme
Recognising the need to bridge the gaps in primary and secondary healthcare delivery, ITC has adopted a holistic approach towards healthcare. This initiative was necessitated by increasing challenges related to access to health and its impact on livelihoods, increased cost of living and disruption in education. Climate challenges are only aggravating the situation further, especially for those in rural areas, and particularly women, children and elderly.
ITC's two-pronged healthcare approach
- Preventive healthcare
- Curative healthcare
ITC's comprehensive, pan-India healthcare programme seeks to improve health and nutrition by:
Mobile Medical Units
Mobile Medical Units provide the first intervention after evaluation of factors such as health needs of the community, impact, ability to deploy at a reasonable time frame, scalability, sustainability, as well as the potential to leverage it as a platform to add other need-based healthcare interventions relevant to the community.
ITC's MMUs address the 4As of community healthcare.
Each MMU is manned by a team comprising a doctor, nurse, pharmacist and a community mobiliser. They are equipped with necessary medicines, kit-based tests, and medical equipment. Consultations, tests and medicines are provided free of cost to the beneficiaries at their doorstep. The ground team works in coordination with district and block-level health officials, while the community mobiliser links specific groups of patients such as high-risk pregnant women with the relevant government system for referral and long-term care.
Mobile Vision Units
ITC's Mobile Vision Units (MVUs) are a one-of-a-kind intervention in the country. They provide high-quality doorstep ophthalmology services to rural communities and are staffed by an optometrist, vision technician and community mobiliser. The intervention includes MVU1, which diagnoses refractive errors, prescribes eyeglasses, diagnoses cataracts etc, and MVU2, equipped with advanced equipment for diagnoses like glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. ITC has also partnered with Dr. Shroff’s Charitable Eye Hospital to support surgeries for underprivileged.
Certified Ophthalmic Paramedic
ITC's Certified Ophthalmic Paramedic (COP) programme addresses the shortage of trained paramedics in the eye care sector. ITC supports 12th-pass girls in a 2-year course at Dr. Shroff’s Charitable Eye Hospital in Saharanpur, offering career opportunities in hospitals, clinics, and optical stores. All Vision Technicians in ITC’s MVUs are alumni of this programme.
Upgradation of Infrastructure in Primary Health Centres
The Primary Health Centres (PHCs) and sub-centres play an important role in preventive healthcare and are the most reliable primary care source for socio-economically weak households. ITC has undertaken to upgrade PHC infrastructure in alignment with the Indian Public Health Standards in select catchment areas. Special focus is given to activating Rogi Kalyan Committees, which encourage community participation and ensure post-project maintenance of the infrastructure.
Support to TB Mukt Abhiyan
ITC has supported the central Ministry of Health & Family Welfare's Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan to eradicate tuberculosis in Saharanpur and Munger.
Maternal & Child Health and Nutrition
This programme aims to improve the health and nutrition of pregnant and lactating mothers, children up to 5 years, adolescent girls and eligible couples, by creating awareness and strengthening the government delivery system. The programme follows an intensive 1,000-day approach, demonstrating best practices through model anganwadis and focusing on nutrition with five groups of locally-grown foods.
ITC has implemented health and nutrition projects in collaboration with government agencies such as the Directorate of Social Welfare, Government of Assam, where it helped address malnutrition in 8 districts, including 7 aspirational districts. The Company has also entered into a partnership with the Child Development Services and Nutrition Department in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, to train anganwadi workers on early childhood care and education and nutrition in line with the government's focus on Padhai Bhi, Poshan Bhi.
ITC has now partnered with the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad to act as a technical knowledge agency and provide scientific inputs for its Health and Nutrition programme.
Impact
The joint efforts have reduced the proportion of underweight children in the direct intervention areas of Uttar Pradesh and Assam to below 10% from a baseline of over 30% in 2017-18.
Swasthya Choupal
This leverages the Company's e-Choupal ecosystem to provide credible and trustworthy health information, products and services in rural India. Rural women trained as Village Health Champions act as micro health entrepreneurs promoting behavioural change. They also earn a living by selling health-related products to the community.
Project Samposhan and Balposhan
ITC runs these two nutrition-specific programmes in select geographies. Project Samposhan, which is operational in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, focuses on anaemia prevention, management and awareness amongst adolescent girls, women and frontline workers. Project Balposhan is focused on improving the nutritional status of children under five years through millet-based interventions in Gujarat.
Over 43,840 household toilets constructed cumulatively in 11 States
Waste Management Programme
The programme focuses on creating a clean and healthy environment by facilitating source-segregation and recycling of dry and wet waste, and management of liquid waste through community ownership. Operational in 42 districts in 12 states, ITC's decentralised waste management and WOW programmes instill behavioural change through door-to-door awareness campaigns to ensure the segregation of waste at source, thus reducing indiscriminate waste dumping.
ITC's Solid Waste Management Programmes have covered around 7.8 million households till date
ITC invests in people and practices that are good for the planet.
