Godrej initiated a dialogue on importance of Partnerships and Collaborations’ for malaria elimination
Stakeholders from public, private and social enterprises come together at the ”Achieving a malaria-free India’ Conclave”What happens when people come together to get rid of Malaria? #MalariaFreeIndia
Malaria runs, hides and eventually we are free of it. An amazing example of CSR and public goodwill.
What happened in Mumbai on 3rd August 2017?
Mumbai, 03 August 2017: ‘Achieving a malaria-free India’, a first-of-its-kind conclave, organized by the Godrej Group in partnership with the Vector Control Research Center (VCRC), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), was held today at Godrej ONE, Mumbai. Stakeholders representing thought leaders from government, academia, the private sector and social & non-profit organizations, discussed the need and merits of partnerships and collaborations in achieving a malaria-free India.
The key highlight of the conclave was a panel discussion on ‘Partnerships and Collaborations towards achieving malaria-free India’.Insightful discussions on India’s current challenges, lessons from the past, the merits and challenges of partnerships, roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders and concrete next steps to make the vision a reality was discussed.
Malaria :All that you need to know
Who all graced the occasion?
It was a power-packed panel comprising Prof. Dr. Sabesan, Senior Consultant, VCRC; Dr. Anup Anvikar, National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR); Shireen Mistree, India Health Fund, Tata Trusts; Neeraj Jain, Country Director, India, PATH and Vivek Gambhir, Managing Director, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Indrajit Gupta, Director, and Co-founder, Founding Fuel moderated the panel.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group, said,
Malaria continues to be one of the most significant public health issues confronting India today, with about 1.5 million new cases detected every year. Our Health Ministry has endorsed the goal of achieving a malaria-free India by 2030. Given the scale of the vision outlined, the importance of partnerships and collaborations is paramount. In line with this, our conclave today, aims to create and facilitate impactful conversations on malaria elimination among key thought leaders from the ecosystem.”
The Chief Guest of the conclave, Dr. Shampa Nag, Project Director, Caritas India, said,
“Partnerships and collaborations present continuous opportunities within the ambit of multi-sectoral approach. They act as catalyzing factors for bridging the physical and behavioural barriers and enabling the motivators/influencers to expand application of interventions as well as strengthening community systems alongside extending support to improve overall health systems. Leveraging distinctive strengths of stakeholders, the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP), civil society organizations & corporate sector, donor & partner agencies, and others should reaffirm the commitment to advance our common elimination vision.”
70 years of Malaria in India
Speaking at the conclave, Mr. Vivek Gambhir, Managing Director, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, said,
“With project EMBED (Elimination of Mosquito Borne Endemic Diseases), we have embarked on a journey of collaboration with various stakeholders, including the government, social sector, and the community. With gradual reductions in the malaria burden in our pilot districts, our project model is a testament to the productivity and importance of partnerships. As a FMCG player with a robust household insecticide portfolio, we have brought financial resources, knowledge on mosquito behaviours and prevention strategies, and a strong understanding of community members, to the fight against malaria. To further our outreach efforts, we have partnered with the VCRC for this conclave and will continue to work in collaboration with them to develop an action-oriented way forward from the discussions of the conclave today.”
The conclave saw meaningful deliberations on malaria elimination, including: individual paper presentations by students of VCRC on different aspects of vector borne diseases; a presentation on Godrej Consumer Products’ pilot project EMBED by Dr. Vikas Goswami, Head Sustainability, Good & Green, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies and Dr. Bitra George, Country Head, India, FHI 360. Prof. Dr. S. Sabesan unveiled a research paper on ‘Public Private Partnership (PPP) towards malaria elimination in India’.
The conclave was part of Godrej Group’s awareness platform.It was launched with the vision to create and facilitate impactful conversations around key issues that are of national significance. The platform will continue to engage with diverse stakeholders groups including government, academia, NGOs, regulatory bodies, industry bodies, media and digital influencers on socially relevant subjects.
Malaria free India
What you need to know
Malaria in India:
India has the highest malaria burden in the Asia Pacific region.More than one billion people are at risk of infection. Official estimates reveal 10 lakh cases of malaria reported in the country every year.
India accounts for 70% of malaria cases and 69% of malaria deaths in the South East Asia region. Over 80% of India’s population lives in ‘malaria transmission high-risk’ areas
The Government of India has made a commitment to eliminate malaria from the country by 2030, in line with the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) and Global Technical Strategy for Malaria. Eliminating malaria in India will result in substantial public health improvement in the country, and would also lead to important improvements in the economic situation for families burdened by malaria.
Established in 1897, the Godrej Group has its roots in India’s Independence and Swadeshi movement. The founder, Ardeshir Godrej, lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur failed with a few ventures before he struck gold with a locks business.
Today, Godrej enjoys the patronage of 1.1 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. Their geographical footprints extend beyond Earth, with their engines now powering many of India’s space missions.
With revenue of over USD 4.1 billion, we are growing fast, and have exciting and ambitious aspirations. Their Vision for 2020 is to be 10 times the size we were in 2010.
But for them, it is most important that besides strong financial performance and innovative, much-loved products, they remain a good company. Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in the Godrej Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. We are also bringing together their passion and purpose to make a difference through their Good & Green strategy of ‘shared value’ to create a more inclusive and greener India.
At the heart of all of this, are their people.Godrej is proud of fostering an inspiring workplace, with an agile and high-performance culture. They are also deeply committed to recognizing and valuing diversity across our teams.
India and Malaria:We need to break the relationship now
Appendix
Quotes from Speakers and Panelists:
Dr. Vikas Goswami, Head Sustainability, Good & Green, Godrej Industries Limited and Associate Companies
“Malaria is a major public health concern for the country today. While substantial progress has been made towards reducing the malaria burden globally and in India as well, the problem still persists. Keeping in mind India’s goal of being malaria-free by 2030, our initiative EMBED (Elimination of Mosquito Borne Endemic Diseases) will contribute towards the strong momentum in the malaria elimination effort by creating awareness about malaria and driving associated behavior change, especially among the high-risk population groups.”
Dr. Bitra George, Country Head, India, FHI 360
“Godrej and Family Health India are working closely with Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh to realize the National Strategy for Malaria Elimination in India by 2030. Our project, EMBED, focuses on driving sustainable behavior change among community members to ensure that they are empowered with the right information to take charge of their own protection against malaria. We have worked on building long-lasting relationships with the local and state governments of MP, local NGOs, ASHA workers, the health system, and the local community, to employ a collaborative approach in our effort to eliminate malaria in MP.”
Neeraj Jain, Country Director, India, PATH
“While India has seen a sharp drop in both incidence and mortality rates, Malaria is still a major public health challenge. Past successes have been achieved through measures to protect against mosquito bites and by quicker diagnosis followed by appropriate drug therapies.
The Government has set a target of 2030 for malaria elimination in India but for this to be a reality, there is a desperate need for multiple stakeholders including government, development partners, academia and private sector, to come together and work in coordination”
Dr. Anup Anvikar, NIMR, ICMR:
“India has launched the National Framework for Malaria Elimination. There is a need for all the partners like National Programme, Industries, Research Organisations, NGOs, academia, community, media etc. work together to tackle the challenges. ICMR National Institute of Malaria Research, with its headquarters in Delhi and support of 10 field units across the country work closely with the national program. It conducts basic, operational and applied research to find short and long term solutions for malaria control. It has played a vital role by providing evidence for revisions in drug and insecticide policy, assuring the quality of diagnostics, evaluating new control tools and developing trained manpower.”
Prof. Dr. Sabesan, Senior Consultant, VCRC
“VCRC continues to partner with the national program by developing newer tools and innovative vector control strategies, providing technical expertise and assistance and studying the epidemiology of vector borne diseases. PPP is an important approach to eliminate malaria from India. Overall, the private sector, along with other stakeholders, has significantly contributed to the momentum towards malaria-elimination in India, but we have a long road ahead of us. Several private organizations including Godrej, Sun Pharma, and Caritas India, have also employed collaborative approaches in their respective programs to work towards this common goal. Thus, a replication of such an approach across other endemic areas in the country, wherein partners work together till the end-game is won, will go a long way in bringing us closer to a safer, malaria-free India.”
Shireen Mistree, India Health Fund, Tata Trusts
“The fastest route to wealthy nation/India is a healthy nation/India. Our only mode of transport: strong collaboration and robust partnerships geared towards quick and effective solutions. Tata Trusts in partnership with The Global Fund has designed The India Health Fund; a vehicle to not only facilitate strong inter-sectoral partnerships but also serve as a mechanism to generate effective solutions in addressing key public health challenges in India which include mitigation of Malaria.”
Indrajit Gupta, Director, and Co-founder, Founder Fuel
“The Godrej conclave on “Achieving a Malaria-Free India” was timely, relevant and tied in well with the government’s mission to eradicate malaria by 2030. The perspectives from a diverse set of speakers at the panel discussion on collaborations and partnerships was valuable and insightful and an important conversation to initiate, given that we need to bring on board multiple stakeholders from business, government, and the social sector if we have to win the war against malaria.”
The Kerala floods are devastating. Man’s folly and nature’s fury, whatever it is, survival and rehabilitation need to be done. Last year West Bengal had terrible floods. Assam too was flooded, but the extent of flooding in Kerala this year was a horror story. A horror stories which has made the rich, poor and middle class homeless. Rehabilitation is a long time process.
The long-term challenges for Kerala flood rehabilitation will include:
How to make drinking water safe.
How to manage waste disposal.
Manage health, education and rebuilding infrastructure.
Rebuilding public infrastructure and private property is going to be a long process.
While you have all contributed to the best of your abilities, this is going to be an ongoing process. In order to help Kerala, your help will need to be there for the long run. But in this, we have another problem. A problem of insight, patience, and persistence. While the devastation happened almost at once, the rebuilding will take years. The charitable activities will need continuous goodwill and should not be mixed with negativity of any kind. In times of need, every rupee counts.
KERALA FLOODS: HELP REHABILITATE
My service for Kerala”
If you have donated for, Kerala, if your friends or family has done or you are planning to do email me at dramrita@healthwealthbridge.com with a screenshot of the receipt (blacken out the amount part) I will do something for you,
1)Answer two health queries /answer 2 questions about Medical education in India Or
2)Answer 5 queries about starting your own blog or making your blog better. Or
Once you write down exactly what you want and read it every day. You start to dream about it. This experiment I have been doing this since I was in the eighth standard. Does it work? Depends on what you want and how hard you can focus on it. The power of our minds and mindful focus on a single thought takes practice. But here goes.
Dear Universe
I am writing this letter because I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for all that you have given me.Thank you for the ability to be thankful, and for always remembering where I have come from and where I want to go.
A kind, understanding child, who makes me happy with her five-year-old wisdom.
Thank you for this ability to write away my tears. To write when I am happy, to write when I am angry. To write to teach and write to learn. Thank you, Universe for always guiding me with your light.
Thank you for this beautiful nature that surrounds me wherever I go.
Thank you for always protecting me.Thank you for giving me guardian angels to help me forever.
What I need help with are my wishes. Since I got over with the thank you, I need to tell you some things I need help with.
Dear Universe please help me deal with my anxiety, related to the mounting violence against doctorseverywhere, especially in West Bengal. I am regretting the decision to come back. But then I think of my mom, who needs us at least in the same state. My daughter would be in the hands of strangers anywhere else.
Writing a letter to the Universe-Does it works?
So guide me dear Universe. Help me work on my expectations. Help me get rid of my tendency to expect people to be more than what they are. People can only give what they have. Unrealistic expectations help no one right?
Do remind me of this when people surprise me, with their lack of understanding of human nature and the circle of deeds. Please stop this violence and madness we see everywhere. Why do news channels harp on about murders and horrors? Why can’t they spread positive stories like We are the World Blog Fest.
Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases…When you focus on the things you need, you’ll find those needs increasing. If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don’t have, you will soon be concentrating on other things that you had forgotten you don’t have-and feel worse! If you set your mind on loss, you are more likely to lose…But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.”
By Andy Andrews, The Noticer: Sometimes, All a Person Needs Is a Little Perspective
The universe does help me focus on the good and beautiful in my life.
Thank you, Universe for always being a good friend, a wise parent, and a wonderful teacher. I will write again soon. This was fun!
Have you ever written a letter to the Universe? Try it and share it with me on twitter @misra_amrita
I need to learn something new, challenge my brain constantly, otherwise its mind-numbingly greyish brown brain sludge! Are you getting the picture? I have several ways to keep my brain happy and my soul singing. Today I will share five ways I practice daily soul care. Maybe it will help you too.
5 Steps for Daily Soul Care which Help
1)I wake up in the morning with a happy thought. Something to look forward too.Maybe an early afternoon off! Maybe a holiday to plan, or a good book coming from Amazon.
2)We always breakfast together as a family. The start of the day should have a protein-rich breakfast enjoyed together as a family.
3)Read a few pages of a good book. It may be fiction or nonfiction. Read a few blogs I have bookmarked .aScan the newspaper for important news
4)Drink water. Water helps you battle a lot of things. Then I water my plants while talking to them. I feel plants grow better when you talk to them. If you look at my balcony gardens you will understand that I talk a lot with them. They seem to like it.Dr.Jagadish Chandra Bose researching the ability of plants to understand sound happened years before but the modern man never uses this special power.
5)Doodle with my daughter in the afternoon or before bedtime. This is our unique bonding time. She draws and we both color or we both doddle and color. Its like we sync together when we do this.I love how this helps me understand her thoughts and see them take shape on paper.
Soulcare and self-care go hand in hand. Your health needs complete physical, mental and social well-being and not just the absence of disease. That’s why each person can be healthy if they just took care and kept their insight alive.
The biggest problem:
You forget to look inside. While blaming everything around, you forget to listen to your soul. Don’t be that person.
One thing I avoid
I avoid negative people whatever it takes. Ages before someone told me, how people behave and talk about others, shows more about them than the person they talk about. Gossip is not a good thing. The company makes you want to indulge and you have that feeling of wasting time. All my life I have tried to choose my company with care. If things have not worked out, I prefer to let it go. Its difficult for me, but the only thing which works. There seems to be no way to correct course, without hurting others. In situations like this words are difficult and some people enjoy the vitriol. I focus on what I want and skip the rest. I listen to my soul.
Whats your way of taking care of your soul? Do you listen to your soul? Comment below to let me know.
The best part about Goa is not the sea or the food.It is the people.
Looking for a family vacation?Not much running around.A safe happy place where kids can play and you can unwind?You also need good food and entertainment for kids.
Look no more.The beautiful beach in front of Dona Sylvia Goa was where we spent hours in the morning and evening.Golden sand, blue water, pleasant people and great food.What else do you need for a great holiday?Family vacations are your chance at making memories.Memories are the best way to make children learn the value of family.What you give them now will be their treasures forever.
The party mood at the Dona Sylvia Goa is contagious.With evening making an entry, the live music will get your foot tapping.Nothing is too difficult.The hospitality is outstanding. The few days spent at the was relaxing and time well spent.
Goa in March was amazing.Pleasant mornings gradually becoming hotter, but still pleasant enough for frolicking in the pool.
What did I love about the resort best?
Goa Trip for Family:Mapping my journey
The beautiful green covering twenty acres.The hotel property opened out to a semi private clean beach. The hotel grounds had swaying palms and coconut trees.Gorgeous flowers,well-manicured lawns, and stunning vista wherever you look.Two or three hammocks tied to the palm trees gave the perfect opportunity for us to quickly take turns at it.
The hotel was entirely full, even in off season.But being so spacious the grounds never looked overcrowded.The only time we got an idea about the crowds, was during the bustling, meal times.
Plenty of families with kids in tow and the restaurant servers were more than happy to hustle of something special for the little one if she didn’ t like the elaborate buffet or wanted something else.
That’s the biggest plus for a family resort.That they will accommodate that children are children and will not make you feel bad for asking for weird things during busy meal times.
The location of the hotel :
It’s located at the Cavelossim beach near Margao.It is 1/2 km from the nearest railway station and 25 kms. from Goa’s International Airport, Dabolim.We took the Indigo flight (our favorite airline ) from Calcutta.
11:25 AM – 2:30 PM Kolkata (CCU) – Goa (GOI)
The flight reached before time and we hoped to catch the buffet spread at the hotel. The pickup was arranged by the resort and we arrived within one hour.
The hunger pangs made us check in quickly and rush to the Sea gull.Their in house restaurant open on all sides with a gorgeous view of the aquamarine pool and swaying palms.Even though we were very late for lunch having Rai with us ensured we could get seated and start eating within a few minutes.Bliss!
We freshened up and strolled down the paved garden path to the beachfront to find a row of lounging chairs neatly arranged.
Glares: In place
Sun protection: Done I used the Neutrogena sunblock
Beach cover up over swimsuit : Done
Lipstick: In place
We were off to the beach.The next part of my Goa saga continues the next week in Part 2.Dodon’t forget to catch up
I am taking part in The Write Tribe Festival of Words #6 #writetribe #writingbravely #festivalofwords
Makeup
For this, you need to know a little bit about the current trends and brands.
This can be suited for any pocket. Click to read what women love.
Bag
Women can’t have too many bags. Look for a cool wallet, club purse, or a super stylish bag. Books
If she is a book lover like me this will always make her happy. Suitable for all budgets.You can also get her a
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Spa
All day pampering at her favorite spa will make her feel very special
