Category: Healthcare

  • If Munnabhai were real, then J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre would be the hospital he sets up

    If Munnabhai were real, then J Watumull Global Hospital & Research Centre would be the hospital he sets up. This is a hospital that espouses everything the movie envisions healthcare to be – where delivering timely treatment is primary, and comes before filling forms or availing insurance, where patients are attended to on the severity…

  • This organisation charges patients just Rs. 60 (Rs. 20 in urban areas) for a consultation, diagnosis and a week-long supply of medicine

    My day at RHCF commenced with a visit to their center on Jyotish Roy Road in Kolkata, which is one of three urban centres that they run. This particular centre is situated on the edge of a slum, whose inhabitants cannot afford to pay for doctor’s appointments nor medicines. This center was set up in…

  • How it began at Rural Health Care Foundation

    Rural Health Care Foundation (RHCF) is an NGO that provides affordable and sustainable primary healthcare to low income groups in West Bengal, having reached out to over 10 lakh patients till date. It prides itself on its organisational working model that is scalable, sustainable and can be replicated and applied to different rurally deprived communities…

  • An organization that gives a normal life to the uncured.

    Hemophilia is an inherited disease that usually affects men. It is a rare bleeding disorder in which the blood doesn’t clot normally. A person with Hemophilia thus bleeds for a longer time than others after an injury. Further, he may bleed internally too, especially in his knees, ankles, and/or elbows. This bleeding may damage his…

  • How it all began at Hemophilia Federation of India

    The Hemophilia Federation of India was started in 1983 by the late Ashok Verma, who was himself a Hemophilia patient, to alleviate the sufferings of thousands of Hemophiliacs in the country. A small scale proprietor of a photo studio in Delhi, it was with great difficulty that Mr. Verma was able to avail of treatment…

  • Living up to its name, Ashadeep, brings children from darkness to light

    by Paula Donoso The Mumbai-based Ashadeep Association is essentially the incredible result of its founder, Dr. Adelheid Hüffer’s initiative, dedication and love. Set up in 1976, the organisation has grown to 7 centres today – from 25 students in 1976 to 600 students today, reaching up to 1,000 including mothers and people who rely on…

  • Securing a child’s future in the first 1,000 days of his/her life – from conception itself

    Located near the infamous Arthur Road Jail, the Foundation for Mother and Child Health’s (FMCH) main programme is quite a foresight-ful one. The organisation fights malnutrition by making efforts that start right at the beginning: from pregnancy! As they believe that a child’s future can be secured in the first 1,000 days from conception itself.  “If…

  • How it began at Foundation for Mother and Child Health

    by Patricia Galea Rosie Penrhyn Jones is the co-chair of Foundation for Mother and Child Health UK, which was originally initiated in Indonesia. Rosie was born in Australia and grew up in the UK, where she trained as a nurse. In the late 1990s, at the age of 38, she moved to Indonesia with her…

  • A hospital of tribals, for tribals, by tribals.

    Deep in the misty Nilgiri hills, an inspiring revolution has been taking place since 1985. A revolution that’s truly inspiring but not many people are aware of. That revolution is ACCORD or Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development – an organisation that helps the adivasi community of the Gudalur Valley in the Nilgiris to…

  • How it began at ASHWINI

    “It does not matter if you save a life by giving Intravenous fluids or by doing a complicated surgery. The bottom line is that you have saved a life.” These are the words of Dr. Nandakumar Menon, founder member of ASHWINI and director of the Gudalur Adivasi Hospital. It was in the mid-1980s that he…

  • How it began at CPAA

    Mr. Yogendra Kumar Sapru is the Founder Chairman & CEO of Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA). An experienced pharmaceutical professional, Mr. Sapru started his career with John Wyeth & Brother in 1963, where he progressed from the post of a Medical Representative to that of Marketing Director. Subsequently, he joined Johnson & Johnson in the pharmaceutical division…

  • This hospital has never turned a single patient away

    “I will treat without exception all who seek my ministrations.”– from the Hippocratic Oath. 60 year old Savitaben (name changed) just underwent heart surgery, which cost Rs. 6 lakhs. 72-year old Ashwin Shah (name changed) had his prostrate removed as Cancer was detected in the same, which cost Rs. 4 lakhs. Himal Patel (name changed)…

  • After setting up LIC, its Founder set up this hospital to give life insurance to the poor

    “How do you build a lasting legacy? Not with bricks and mortar, but by setting men’s hearts on fire with the passion of your vision.” – Henry Longfellow That a man in his 70s, an age when most men retire to a quiet, easy life, can dream of setting up a medical institution is remarkable.…

  • Lives changed by Charutar Arogya Mandal

    Charutar Arogya Mandal’s mission is to provide quality healthcare for people from all strata of society. Which is why it comes as no surprise to see the not-so-well-off juxtaposed against their state-of-the-art premises, as ones walks through this spacious hospital. On my visit, I chatted with family members of some beneficiaries admitted to the hospital.…