Month: November 2022

Through its project Swabhiman and support from Avery Dennison, NGO Smile Foundation has helped adolescent girls of Surat Nagar Phase 2, of Gurugram (erstwhile Gurgaon) overcome iron deficiency anaemia

New Delhi: In 2016, World Bank estimated that India loses 0.9 percent of GDP, amounting to a loss of up to $ 20.25 billion (RS.1.35 lakh crore) because of anaemia. The disease primarily caused by lack of essential nutrients like iron, vitamin B12 reduces the productivity of people it afflicts and in extreme cases can be fatal. In India, Anaemia is more prevalent among women (pregnant and non-pregnant) belonging to the age group of 15-49 years when compared to men of the same age group. 53.1 per cent of women were found to be Anaemic in National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 4 of 2015-16, as opposed to 22.7 per cent of men who were Anaemic.

A small effort to improve the health of 100 adolescent girls by controlling iron deficiency (anaemia) in the selected community of Surat Nagar Phase 2 Gurugram (erstwhile Gurgaon) was initiated by a Delhi based NGO Smile Foundation and adhesive manufacturing company in January this year.

The project was introduced under Smile Foundation’s umbrella project Swabhiman instigated in 2005 to make a difference to the status of women’s health. Giving out details of the Swabhiman project, Seema Kumar, project lead, says, “Unfortunately, far from being empowered, most women are denied even their basic rights like health, education, employment and a respectable status in the society. To address these challenges, a tailor-made strategy called the ‘4 S Model’ has been developed under Swabhiman (self-respect) project.

Identification Of The Target Group

Over the years, Gurugram, known as the financial and technological hub, has witnessed a rise in the number of migrant labour, moving into the city for work. The demographic study of the identified location revealed that it is dominated by underprivileged and gender-biased community where girls are often deprived of proper nutrition.

Through regular health check-ups, the prevalence of anaemia among the women and girls was noted. It is only then Smile Foundation and Avery Dennison decided to improve the health of 100 adolescent anaemic girls (10-19 years) through education and awareness.

Improving Iron Deficiency Anaemia In The Selected Community Of Surat Nagar Phase 2, Gurugram

In January 2019, when Haemoglobin (Hb) tests were done, on an average, Hb levels were recorded between 6-11 gm/dl (grams per decilitre) as opposed to ideal levels of 11-16 gm/dl among children. After six months, in June, another blood test was done and significant improvement in the Hb levels of the beneficiaries was recorded.

Among all the beneficiaries was a 15-year-old Sapna, working as a volunteer with Smile Foundation since 2018; who was diagnosed with anaemia during one of the health check-ups. Recalling the day and how her Hb levels improved in just six months, Sapna says,

“One day my mentor noticed my eyes and asked me to get a health check-up done because my eyes looked extra white. In January this year, I was diagnosed with anaemia and my Hb levels were recorded at 7 gm/dl (as opposed to the ideal Hb of minimum 11 gm/dl). I was given iron and folic acid supplements and asked me to inculcate nutritious food in my diet which majorly included add green leafy vegetables, milk, chick peas and jaggery. Back then I didn’t know how severe anaemia can be, let alone how to cure it.
After six months, in June, Sapna’s Hb level rose to commendable 8.5gm/dl. But the question here is, what motivated the 15-year-old girl and other adolescents to adopt healthy practices and diet and how did they do it.

To create awareness among girls and educate them about the health benefits of having adequate Hb levels, focus group discussions, group meetings, one on one counselling sessions, workshop with nutrition expert, and community medical doctor was organised.

Until and unless individuals are educated about the health implications of a particular disease, they take little to no preventive and corrective measures. Keeping that in mind, during all the discussions and workshops, various aspects of anaemia – symptoms, treatment and prevention, and nutritious diet were discussed. Talking about the same, Seema says,

“People residing in the rural region can’t afford luxurious or expensive nutritious food like red meat, fish, tofu, sea food, so we would suggest low cost nutritious food like lentils, sprouts, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and jaggery. We discussed good practices of cooking to preserve nutrients like steaming and boiling, nutritious and balanced diet (protein rich food like lentils, beans, seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grains, iron and vitamin C rich food and dairy products) for overall development, among other things.

Source:  https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/national-nutrition-month-this-ngo-is-aiming-to-eradicate-anaemia-among-adolescent-girls-in-a-gurgaon-community-37838/

The list of awardees included Arunachalam Muruganantham, Nafisa Ali Sodhi, Menaka Gandhi, Lakshmi Agarwal, Mansi Pradhan, Dr Prakash Amte, Sandeep Pandey, Anu Agha, and Belinda Wright. The awardees were selected by an eminent twenty-four-member jury.

The award citation highlighted the innovative approach and extensive partnerships, with a range of stakeholders, particularly with companies and corporates, fostered by Smile Foundation to enable interventions that have benefitted 750,000 children and their families.

Smile on Wheels is a custom-tailored mobile medical unit van that provides free of cost door step consultation, basic medical tests medicines to underprivileged

New Delhi: Out-of-pocket health expenses drove 55 million Indians, more than the population of South Korea, Spain or Kenya, into poverty in 2011-2012, and of these, 38 million (69 per cent) were impoverished by expenditure on medicines alone, states the study carried out by Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and published in the British Medical Journal in 2018. Due to lack of funds, poor people often avoid necessary healthcare and even a preventable illness takes the shape of life-threatening disease. To address the issue, in 2006 NGO Smile Foundation introduced ‘Smile on Wheels’, a project to meet the primary healthcare needs of urban underprivileged communities.

‘Smile on Wheels’ is a custom-tailored mobile medical unit van, armed with modern equipment and a doctor and qualified nursing attendant on board, made available to cater to the primary health needs of beneficiaries in inaccessible areas. The ‘Smile on Wheels’ van provides free of cost door step consultation, medical tests like blood sugar and blood pressure, measuring weight and height and free medicines to underprivileged.

Giving out details of the initiative to NDTV, Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee, Smile Foundation, says,

“While free medical services is the core function of these vans but the secondary function also involves cultivating health seeking behavior in the community, awareness on health and sanitation, and consciousness on right eating and nutrition, particularly among pregnant women and infants.

The mobile medical unit vans contribute towards bridging the access and equity gap in our healthcare system. Further talking about the aim of smile on wheels initiative, Mr Mishra says,

“This free of cost door step service is our effort to reduce out of pocket expenses for the underserved communities, thereby helping them allocate their resources to other critical needs like food and education.

How Smile On Wheels Provide Free Healthcare

One mobile medical unit caters to the needs of the residents of 10-12 locations with bimonthly visits at each identified location. Before a medical van is scheduled to address the medical needs of slum dwellers, a team of volunteers does the job of community mobilisation. A group of volunteers go door-to-door, informing slum dwellers about medical van’s upcoming visit and how they can avail facilities.

One mobile medical unit caters to the needs of the residents of 10-12 locations with bimonthly visits at each identified location

Talking about the process for availing free medical facilities provided by smile on wheels, Mr Mishra says,

“As and when our smile on wheels (SOW) reaches its destination, individual willing to get free of cost medical consultancy needs to register himself/herself and wait for his/her turn. The reason we have made registration mandatory is to have the medical history of each and every patient at one place. This information comes handy when a person shifts from one place to another or when a doctor changes. For instance, a migrant labour living in Delhi moves to a colony in Kolkata and wishes to utilise the medical facilities provided by SOW in his current location. In that case, a doctor in Kolkata can simply know about his medical history from our data base and provide necessary treatment.

Smile On Wheels Changing Lakhs Of Lives

At the launch of NDTV Dettol Banega Swasth India on Monday (August 19) with campaign ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, NDTV spoke to a couple of 6000 beneficiaries from Basanti Colony in Kolkata. Most of the residents of Basanti Colony are daily wage earners and for them sometimes it is a choice between going to the hospital for medical care and earning their daily bread. Talking about how mobile van is better than going to a hospital, one of the beneficiaries said,

“The nearest hospital is far away and going there and standing in a queue whole day means the loss of a livelihood whereas mobile van addresses our needs quickly.

Smile on Wheels initiative that was first launched in 2006 became fully operational in 2011. Today, Smile Foundation runs 42 fully functional medical vans across 22 states in India, of which three mobile medical units are operational in Kolkata. Over the years, SOW has benefitted 3.4 lakh individuals and around 70 per cent of the beneficiaries are women and children. In Kolkata alone, nearly 1.25 lakh people have been benefitted in the last four years. Smile Foundation is aiming to add at least 40 more medical units in the next two years.

Source: https://swachhindia.ndtv.com/smile-on-wheels-provides-access-to-primary-healthcare-to-the-poor-at-their-doorstep-in-22-states-37319/

Kolkata, Aug 21 (UNI) With an objective to create awareness and support girls so that they receive a quality education, the iconic British luxury motorcycle maker Triumph and Smile Foundation came together for the fifth time in a row to raise funds.

As India celebrates its 73rd Independence Day, bikers across 15 cities came together to set the ‘wheels of change in motion’ for girls from less privileged communities, giving a special meaning to word freedom that only education can empower

Triumph and Smile Foundation came together for the fifth time in a row to raise funds for supporting girl’s education and make the day special by holding bike rides by enthusiasts.

Shoeb Farooq, General Manager, Triumph Motorcycles India, said,’In a country like ours where the girls have very little access to education, it is very important to create opportunities for them to learn, grow and evolve… our objective is to create awareness and support girls so that they receive a quality education, which helps them better their lives.”

“We are happy to partner with Triumph for five years in a row to support the cause of education, which is the very foundation of Smile. We believe in education for all and girl child in particular as they form the foundation, the backbone of every family,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder, and trustee, Smile Foundation.

“If we educate our girls today, they will be informed wives, mothers, and caregivers tomorrow. This is not just important for the progress of a home, but integral to the healthy growth of the nation as a whole,” added Mishra.

This ride for a cause was flagged off from Triumph dealerships across fifteen locations in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi-NCR, Kochi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad.

“Through this ride, we wish to create awareness around the need for quality education for all. Our riders will be spreading the message of the need for educating the girls,” added Farooq.

Triumph’s ‘Ride for Freedom’ reached out to its 6,000-strong customer base across cities. The company reached out to its patrons to encourage them to support the education of girls.