Category: Press Releases

Participates in the upcoming World Health Summit in Berlin from October 16-18, 2018

New Delhi, October 12, 2018: Smile Foundation, a national level development organization, has been bestowed with the prestigious Lifelong Health Award by Merck Consumer Health. The award recognizes initiatives for children in health and education convergence. Smile Foundation’s programme dedicated to education of underprivileged children – Mission Education, and intervention for value education among privileged children – Child for Child, have been selected as the winner for their integrated approach towards further strengthening of learning outcomes as well as adopting healthy and positive habits early on.

As a part of the project and being the winner of the award, Mr Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, and Mr Sanjeev Dham, COO, Smile Foundation, are going to participate in the upcoming World Health Summit in Berlin from October 16th-18th 2018 and will be joining the award jury members to further discuss and strengthen the cause of promoting a positive health seeking behavior among children from an early age, to ensure a healthy life along with a longer life expectancy.

The Award is part of Merck’s Health Business’ continued commitment to prepare society for a new era of humans living 100 healthy years. As a precursor to this Merck had launched a whitepaper entitled “WE100 Healthy Years – Are Kids prepared?” in 2017 with a focus on showcasing the organizations already making inroads into children’s education around health. To ensure a holistic approach, the Lifelong Health blueprint has been developed and outlines a four-step strategy to guide stakeholders as they invest in initiatives addressing aspects of healthy life expectancy for children: a holistic perspective, personal empowerment, a cross-sector approach and making a tangible impact. These same criteria were used by the award jury to assess all applications.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said, “For over a decade now, Smile Foundation has been working with children and their families in remote villages and unreached slums of the country to improve access to education, nutrition and inculcate a positive health seeking behavior at the grassroots level. At the same time, we have also been working towards building empathy and compassion in privileged children towards their less privileged counterparts. The idea is to bridge the gap between the privileged and underprivileged children and lay down the foundation of an equitable society where every child has equal access to education, healthcare and nutrition. We are extremely humbled and honoured to receive this award and the global recognition from Merck Consumer Health.”

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 600,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 250 live welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

On the special occasion of International Women’s day 8th March 2019, Gradeup, India’s largest preparation platform for competitive exams, announces its collaboration with Smile Foundation, a development organisation to support its initiative that empowers girl child education “She can Fly give her the sky.

As part of this collaboration, Gradeup will be sponsoring education for eight girls for the upcoming year. To experience the Joy of giving back, all women employees of Gradeup will be visiting Smile Foundation’s Mission Education Center in Noida. Fun filled activities like Potluck lunch, Painting, Dance competition are planned for the children at the Mission Education Center.

Sharing an insight into the collaboration, Spokesperson, Gradeup remarked, “At Gradeup, we have always believed in and strongly advocated in favor of equal opportunities for all, irrespective of their gender, financial and social status. Through our initiative undertaken on the wonderful occasion of Women’s Day, we aspire to uplift underprivileged girls and provide them with avenues for their betterment in terms of education. We consider our collaboration with Smile Foundation as a significant step towards the same, and we are certain that this will further help us in bringing our vision of holistic empowerment to reality.”

Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee, Smile Foundation added, “Our mission is to empower the underprivileged through relevant education, innovative healthcare, and market-focused livelihood programmes. It gives us immense joy to know that there are platforms like Gradeup that align with our objectives and are willing to scale the extra mile to ensure betterment of women and the society on a whole. We are happy to collaborate with them and look forward to a longer and meaningful association.”

Since its inception in 2015, Gradeup has been passionate about and actively engaged in leveraging technology and other resources to fill the gaps in the current education system. The organization’s passion aligns with Smile Foundation’s mission of empowering underprivileged children, youth, and women through education, healthcare, and livelihood programmes. Being a proactive part of the education space in the country, this initiative undertaken by Gradeup with a special focus on girl child in the wake of Women’s Day is being widely appreciated.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 600,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 250 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

The Gurukul school and Smile Foundation showcase an initiative that brings privileged and underprivileged children together

Children from disadvantaged sections mentored by their privileged peers, and teachers, performed to a cheering crowd consisting of parents, teachers and dignitaries at The Gurukul, Zirakpur neighbouring Chandigarh.

The Gurukul joined hands with the Smile Foundation, a development organisation for the cause of the underprivileged section of the society.

Around 50 children from Smile Foundation’s Mission Education centre participated in the annual ‘Achievement Day’ event on the 19th and 20th March hosted on the school premises. Over the two days, the children presented a couple of songs, a dance medley celebrating right to cherish childhood and a mime act highlighting prevalence of child labour and the Right to Education. Their performances were held with those by the students from the school.

“It has been an amazing journey for all involved as the teachers and students from The Gurukul mentored the children of our Mission Education centre to build their confidence and refine their singing, dancing and performance skills. These kids have transformed into impressive performers and the school also provided costumes to them,” said Vineet Vaidya, Country Director, Child for Child, Smile Foundation.

“We felt the need to create empathy among our students towards the realities that the underprivileged children face. The experiences from this interaction will reflect in their behaviour and higher emotional intelligence in the times to come,” said Heena Sharma, school principal, The Gurukul.

“We at The Gurukul believe in holistic education, which goes beyond books and laboratories. Through this intervention, we want to create responsible and empathetic citizens of tomorrow,” she added.

“It is important to bring the underprivileged and the privileged sections together through a process that allows them to appreciate and, more importantly, encourages them to learn from each other,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee, Smile Foundation.

“While some children lack access to basic amenities and opportunities, others belonging to the “privileged” group have them in abundance, and often tend to take them for granted. While in school these children are sensitive and responsive, so it is easy for them to learn from surroundings,” he added.

The Child for Child programme follows an audio-visual design through which children connect faster and more effectively using direct interaction, cinema, art and music.

For Queries Contact: Jaya Shroff, (Media: Smile Foundation): 9818194294

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

While over 1.1. million people have survived Cyclone Fani in the coastal belt of Odisha- the strongest tropical storm to hit India in over two decades- they have no food, drinking water, or even homes to go back to.

“The foremost worry of millions living in cyclone shelters is about basic necessities like food and drinking water,” said Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and executive trustee at Smile Foundation, India. “The cyclone damaged homes and schools, destroyed assets, infrastructure and everything else that existed in several villages along the coasts,” he said.

“Our teams from Smile Foundation are already on the ground distributing food and water among various other basic necessities to help these lives get back to normalcy,” said Mishra.

Despite the paralysis of core banking system due to limited electricity and internet connection among other challenges, social workers from Smile Foundation have started distributing basic supplies in districts of Khurda and Puri, starting Thursday.

In the coming weeks, Smile Foundation plans to provide immediate relief supplies to at least 10,000 families, including food supplies, drinking water, shelter (tarpaulins), sanitation and hygiene supplies, as well as solar lamps.

“The situation on the ground is extremely bad. There is no electricity, no internet, lots of damage to property. Farmlands, which are their primary source of income are completely damaged, people are mentally very disturbed,” said Uttam Datta, leading Smile Foundation’s Disaster Response Team.

“We are only focusing on providing them with the basics essentials at the moment, to help them cope with the loss. Actual rehabilitation and reconstruction work may take several months,” he said.

“We aim to reduce the adverse consequences of disaster on human lives and also bridge the gap between governments’ aided relief and immediate need on ground,” said Mishra.

“The first two cycles of our interventions will include rescue and rehabilitation, which means that we aim to keep our supply chain of basic relief material active. In the third phase, Smile Foundation would work with local village communities for restoration of health centers and schools including providing solutions for clean drinking,” he added.

Cyclone Fani, which has affected an estimated 3 million people in 10,000 villages and 52 urban agglomerations in around 11 districts, made its landfall at 9.30 am on May 3 in the coastal state of Odisha at a wind speed of 175 kmph.

The government evacuated over 1.1 million people from vulnerable districts to safer locations, saving countless lives. To date, the death toll stands at 41 people.

Smile Foundation teams are working closely with Government officials across districts to assess damage to lives, homes, schools, hospitals and other local buildings, as well as the impact on livelihoods in the districts of Puri, Khorda and Jagatsinghpur.

Smile Foundation is working to ensure that families are provided with all immediate support to help them get back to their usual lives and livelihood.

Notes to editors:

Smile Foundation has spokespersons available for interviews in New Delhi (Head office), and Odisha.

Contact information:

Jaya Shroff: Senior Communications Manager on +91 9818194294 or jaya.shroff@smilefoundationindia.org

SMILE FOUNDATION’S EMERGENCY RESPONSE

Smile Foundation, with its welfare interventions focused on children and their families, responds to the call of humanity in times of such calamities under its Disaster Response programme. From the Kashmir earthquake in 2005, to the Uttarakhand floods in 2013 and the Kerala Floods in 2018, Smile Foundation has acted promptly to reach out and respond to the immediate needs of the disaster affected people, while maintaining a sustainable approach to help them rebuild their lives by facilitating their education, healthcare and livelihood. More than 100,000 families have benefited through SMILE Foundations Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction interventions. Some of the major interventions as a part of disaster response are highlighted below:

Uttrakhand Floods (2013): In April 2014, Smile conducted health check-up camps in villages through Static Health Clinics. The project delivered free curative, preventive and promotive health services in the flood hit-areas. Active in 23 villages of Block – Ukhimath of Rudraprayag district, the project had around 11,500 direct beneficiaries. Those diagnosed with diseases are provided effective treatment for free.

Chennai Floods (2015): Relief operations conducted in two phases: phase I was Intensive Relief Operations which was concluded and Phase II was Health Based Rehabilitation

• Approximately 756000 liters of water and 37780 kg of food was distributed.
•  Approximately 378000 people benefitted through water distribution and 188900 people benefitted through food items distribution.

• More than 2000 people were provided services such as OPD sessions, diagnosis tests, and free medicines every day. Kerala Floods (2018): Among one of the worst flood affected districts in Kerala was Wayanad. Smile Foundation’s Disaster Response Team was continuously present in Wayanad to provide immediate relief support. Nearly 7000 households were reached out to provide benefits to approximately 35,664 most needy people. The affected people were provided with water, edibles, basic items and health camp services were also extended to the affected people.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

General Insurance Corporation Ltd supports four mobile health vans through Smile Foundation

Mumbai, May 20: Poor and underserved urban communities of Mumbai will benefit from the mobile health services through “Smile on Wheels” supported by General Insurance Corporation Ltd.

General Insurance Corporation Ltd and the non-profit Smile Foundation have come together to cater to the health needs of at least four lac urban slum dwellers in the western suburban localities of Mumbai

The Project called “Smile on Wheels” was launched on May 20 by the senior management of General Insurance Corporation limited and Smile Foundation. The launch took place at Flora Fountain at Hutatma Chowk, Fort Mumbai.

As part of the initiative, GIC has provided four fully equipped medical vans, one of which will cater to select locations in western suburban Mumbai Bandra, Kalina, Santa Cruz, Goregaon, Malad, Andheri, while the rest will be be sent to West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Bilaspur Chhattisgarh and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh.

These medical vans will provide regular health check-ups, basic pathological tests and doctor consultation. As part of the mandate, the doctors and paramedics also hold awareness sessions in the community to sensitize the locals on health and hygiene issues.

“Healthcare is a priority in our country. We are extremely happy to partner with Smile Foundation to promote better health and hygiene in the community,” said Alice G Vaidyan, chairman-cum-managing director, General Insurance Corporation Ltd.

“We are extremely thankful to our partners here for supporting this cause. If health care needs of the poor are catered to, we automatically off-load the poor of major expenses and worries, thereby helping them allocate their resources to other critical needs like food and education,” said Santanu Mishra, executive trustee and co-founder, Smile Foundation.

“We already have 40 fully functional medical vans catering to the health care needs of poor communities in various state of India and hope to add at least 40 more in the coming two years,” he said.

Soon after the fagging off ceremony for all the four vehicles, the vans will be taken to respective locations of operation. It will operate on the hub and spoke model, where all operations will be controlled and routed of from the central office.

For more queries: Jaya Shroff: 9818194294/ jaya.shroff@smilefoundationindia.org

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

Smile Foundation has joined hands with DLF Promenade to raise funds to support marginalized communities who have been the worst sufferers of the Cyclone Fani, which made a landfall in the state on May 3.

The recent cyclone in Odisha has left a trail of destruction across its path. But the worst impacted have been the communities that have been living on the margins— socially and economically. There is a need to shine the light on the long road to recovery that awaits them and, even more significantly, extend long-term support.

Dr. AmanBathla, who is the World Fastest Pianist, lent his support to the initiative to raise funds for survivors of the cyclone. He stood along with 100 underprivileged children and made a call to action to all visitors coming to DLF Promenade on Tuesday afternoon.He also dedicated his award winning composition ‘Pragaman’ towards the cause.

Photographer Pramod Nambiar who travelled with Smile Foundation Disaster Response team to capture the devastation and survivor stories also showcased powerful images from the ground in a photo exhibition titled ‘Cyclone Fani – Beneath the Snake’s Hood.’The compelling stories on display at DLF Promenade have been curated to draw attention and raise support.

“It is extremely critical to come together as a country to raise funds to rebuild Odisha. The cyclone has swept away a lot of infrastructure and livelihood. It is sad that people don’t have basic means to survival like food, water and a roof above their heads,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder and trustee at Smile Foundation.

“Not only are our efforts geared towards supplying basic relief support, but we also want to support the rebuilding of schools and means of livelihood like boats and other equipment. We at Smile Foundation believe in dignity of life and labour,” he said.

“DLF Promenade stands with Smile in its efforts to raise funds for rebuilding lives along the coast of Odisha. We have always supported the right causes and this definitely deserves attention,” said Mr. Siddhartha Natu, Center Head, DLF Promenade.

People have been badly affected by this calamity and we need to offer every little support that we can. DLF Promenade is hopeful that our contribution will help rebuild lives” he said.

Although casualties are pegged at a little over 60, but the cyclone, swept away 70 percent of all mud-houses, up-rooted more than 60,000 trees, thousands of boats and completely destroyed all agricultural land. The cyclone that caused a landslide on the morning of May 3 damaged Rs. 525 crore worth of assets, according to government estimates.

Preview the exhibition: https://spark.adobe.com/page/EQ6q8pUJQPDxG/

For more queries contact:

Krishna Kannaiya: 8447657052/ krishna.kannaiya@smilefoundationindia.org

Deepti Chhibber: 9540742923 / Deepti.c@prpundit.com

Website: http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

May 28, Delhi NCR DLF Mall of India joins hands with Smile Foundation to celebrate this World No Tobacco Day on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The mall has organized fun activities with kids and adults, this summer. On this important day, DLF Mall of India has also come up with a program spreading awareness on the harmful effects of tobacco among children and adults.

The awareness program includes a drawing/painting competition for kids around ‘no tobacco’. This activity will support the cause and spread awareness about healthy living and taking care of one’s own body and protecting our surroundings. This activity will also help people understand the seriousness of the issue and how we are creating a harmful environment for our children and others.

Ms. Pushpa Bector, EVP and Business Head Shopping Malls, DLF, said “DLF Mall of India is proud to be a part of an important cause with Smile Foundation. It’s disheartening to see people suffering from various health issues because of the consumption of tobacco. Nowadays people at a young age get influenced by habits which are threatening to their body and lifestyle. We hope to reach out to the maximum individuals through this initiative and make people understand the importance of healthy living.”

“As part of our Smile on Wheels programme, where 45 mobile health vans travel to remote urban and rural poor areas of the country to offer doorstep healthcare services, we do a lot of sensitisation work on anti-tobacco use,” said Sanjeev Dham, chief operating officer at Smile Foundation.

“We work with children, women and youth to increase awareness on the negative impact of tobacco on people’s lung health, from cancers to chronic respiratory diseases. We also try and educate the daily wagers on the role of lungs and healthy breathing on over all health and well-being of an individual,” he explained.

About DLF Mall of India:

DLF “With an expertise of more than six decades in the industry, brings DLF Mall of India the largest Mall of the country, a marquee project set to create a benchmark in the retail business of India. It is an 1800 crore project, spread across the retail space of 2 million (sq.ft. GLA) which is going to double the total DLF’s retail portfolio Business and brings the unique concept of ‘Zoning’ for the first time in India for the ease of Customer’s shopping experience. It has six customized levels of retail experience like international and Indian premium fashion, dedicated kids zone, entertainment, international cafes, food courts and restaurants with a race track atrium ensuring equal and excellent visibility to all stores. It is going to be the home for over 350 brands which include more than 100 Fashion brands opening 27 Unisex Fashion, over 50 Women’s Fashion, 21 Men’s Fashion & 14 Kids Fashion Brand Outlets. Around 75 Food & Beverages Options Including 51 Cafes and Casual Dining Restaurants and 22 F&B Kiosks. Strategically located in Sector-18, Noida, DLF Mall of India has excellent connectivity with the key affluent catchment areas – East, South and Lutyens Delhi as well as Noida and Greater Noida. With its sheer size, innovative zoning strategy and impressive location, DLF Mall of India is all set to redefine the way retail is perceived in India.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 600,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 250 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

For press queries contact:

PR Pundit
Chahak Roda | Sakshi Agrawal | dlf@prpundit.com

Smile Foundation

Jaya Shroff: jaya.shroff@smilefoundationindia.org

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

Smile Foundation has been conferred with the prestigious CSR Health Impact Awards for its health initiative “Smile on Wheels” across India.

The award was received by Smile Foundation at the CSR Health Impact Awards 2019-20 during the CSR India Health Summit, an initiative of the IHW Council held at New Delhi on June 27, 2019.

Smile Foundation runs 38 fully functional medical vans catering to the health care needs of poor communities in various state of India and hopes to add at least 40 more in the coming two years.

Speaking about the focus on health as part of CSR funding it receives, Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee, Smile Foundation said, “We are committed to the sustainable well-being of underserved people, and believe that good health is key to well being of the whole family. If health care needs of the poor are catered to, we automatically off-load the poor of major expenses and worries, thereby helping them allocate their resources to other critical needs like food and education.”

Expressing happiness on receiving the award, Satnam Singh, General Manager, Health initiatives at Smile Foundation, “Smile has been relentlessly serving the poor communities in diverse ways by simplifying health access problems and synergizing doctors, paramedics, CSR fund providers, and communities to take healthcare literally at the doorstep of the underserved sections of the society,” he said.

“This award is recognition of our work done towards participating in solving India’s healthcare problems.”

Over 3.4 Lakh beneficiaries have benefitted from the Smile on Wheels intervention and nearly 70% of these beneficiaries are women and children. 10, 500 + patients suffering from diabetes are receiving regular medical treatment and medicines from the Mobile Medical Unit services in function since 2006.

The Smile on Wheels van provides access to medicine and healthcare to the underprivileged through outpatient sessions undertaken by the onboard Doctor, Nurse, and Pharmacist. The Van treats patients and provides pathological services and Information Education Communication activities to promote healthy living habits and tackle chronic diseases. For patients with requirements for more advanced treatment the Van provides referrals to Hospitals in the region.

Each Mobile Medical Unit provides its services in 20 different slum locations with fortnightly visits at each. On a monthly basis, each van sees a footfall of 1300 patients. In addition to the services provided at the Mobile Medical Unit, the implementation team carries out monthly IEC activities in communities and nearby schools to generate awareness on health, hygiene, nutrition and any other prevalent diseases. The Van also provided critical service of early detection and access to proper medical treatment during malaria and dengue outbreaks during monsoon months.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

IHS Markit supports mobile health van through Smile Foundation

Gurugram, 18 July 2019: Poor and underserved urban communities of Gurugram and Noida will benefit from the mobile health services through “Smile on Wheels” supported by IHS Markit, a global leader in information, analytics and solutions for major industries and markets.

IHS Markit and the non-profit Smile Foundation have come together to cater to the health needs of at least a lac urban slum dwellers in the poor suburban pockets of Gurugram and Noida.

The Project called “Smile on Wheels” was launched on July 22 by the senior management of IHS Markit and Smile Foundation. The flagging off ceremony took place at Faizalpur Dhani, Near Sector 48 in Gurugram

As part of the initiative, IHS Markit has provided a fully equipped medical van, one of which will cater to select locations in suburban Gurugram and Noida.

These medical vans will provide regular health check-ups, basic pathological tests and doctor consultation. As part of the mandate, the doctors and paramedics also hold awareness sessions in the community to sensitize the locals on health and hygiene issues.

“Healthcare is a top priority in our country. We are extremely happy to partner with Smile Foundation to promote better health and hygiene in the community,” said Himanshu Sharma – Managing Director, IHS Markit.

“As a responsible corporate with sustainability and growth as our mandate, we feel good health of community is imperative to the well being of any society. We are sure that this partnership will help bring in positive change in lives of the underserved communities,” he said.

“We are extremely thankful to our partners here for supporting this critical cause. If health care needs of the poor are catered to, we automatically off-load the poor of major expenses and worries, thereby helping them allocate their resources to other critical needs like food and education,” said Santanu Mishra, executive trustee and co-founder, Smile Foundation.

“Currently, we have 39 fully functional medical vans catering to the health care needs of poor communities in various state of India and hope to add at least 40 more in the coming two years,” he said.

For more queries: Jaya Shroff: 9818194294/ jaya.shroff@smilefoundationindia.org

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is an NGO in India directly benefitting over 750,000 children and their families every year, through more than 350 live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, in over 1000 remote villages and slums across 25 states of India.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

About IHS Markit:

IHS Markit (NYSE: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and solutions for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 business and government customers, including 80 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.

Healthcare at doorsteps for urban poor through mobile health vans

Gurugram, 25 July 2019: Pushpa a daily wager working at construction sites of Gurugram is happy that she does not have to miss a day of pay to attend to her family’s medical needs. The doctor literally comes to her doorstep, bi-monthly to cater to the healthcare demands of her family and community.

Similarly, Janak Kaur, 76, a resident of Kalyanpuri, has been regularly availing services of the Noida healthcare van for two years to get free treatment for diabetes. This includes regular health-checks, medication and consultation.

“With the doctors coming right our doorstep, life has become so much easier. My blood sugar and blood pressure levels are in control, taking care of other health parameters,” she said.

Ericsson with Smile Foundation has launched five mobile hospitals to cater to the needs of the underprivileged communities in the urban villages of Noida, Gurgaon, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru.

Access to medical or healthcare and its costs are two big factors that push poor communities deeper into poverty. For many even a manageable illness or healthcare issues would become a life inhibiting challenges.

Out-of-pocket health expenses drove 55 million Indians–more than the population of South Korea, Spain or Kenya–into poverty in 2017, and of these, 38 million (69%) were impoverished by expenditure on medicines alone, according to a study released by Public health Foundation of India in 2018. The study also showed that about 68% of the Indian population had limited or no access to essential medicines.

“The project was first launched in 2015 to address the primary healthcare needs of daily wage earners living in urban underprivileged communities. Looking at the success achieved by the programme, Ericsson extended the services to Mumbai in April 2016 and more recently to Pune in January 2019,” said Amitabh Ray, MD, Ericsson India Global Services.

“Since 2015, we have already catered to over 3 lac patients in need of healthcare. In the near future, we plan to strengthen the mobile medical unit services to the inaccessible population and thereby contribute towards bridging the access and equity gap in our Healthcare system,” he said.

“Working with poor and underprivileged communities, we see the day to day struggles, particularly the daily wage workers and their families undergo. The partnership with Ericsson therefore comes as a critical initiative to address the gap that exists in terms of healthcare needs and its availability,” said Santanu Mishra, co-founder and executive trustee at Smile Foundation.

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

The community outreach is an important part of this initiative as this inculcates health seeking behavior in the community. As part of the programme, doctors and paramedics often hold awareness sessions on lifestyle diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, importance of nutrition and sanitation among other things.

Smile Foundation runs 40 fully functional medical vans catering to the health care needs of poor communities in various state of India and hopes to add at least 40 more in the coming two years.

What is Smile on Wheels?

The Smile on Wheels van provides access to medicine and healthcare to the underprivileged through outpatient sessions undertaken by the onboard Doctor, Nurse, and Pharmacist. The Van treats patients and provides pathological services and Information Education Communication activities to promote healthy living habits and tackle chronic diseases. For patients with requirements for more advanced treatment the Van provides referrals to Hospitals in the region.

Each Mobile Medical Unit provides its services in 20 different slum locations with fortnightly visits at each. On a monthly basis, each van sees a footfall of 1300 patients. In addition to the services provided at the Mobile Medical Unit, the implementation team carries out monthly IEC activities in communities and nearby schools to generate awareness on health, hygiene, nutrition and any other prevalent diseases. The Van also provided critical service of early detection and access to proper medical treatment during malaria and dengue outbreaks during monsoon months.

Over 3.4 Lakh beneficiaries have benefitted from the Smile on Wheels intervention and nearly 70% of these beneficiaries are women and children. 10, 500 + patients suffering from Diabetes are receiving regular medical treatment and medicines from the Mobile Medical Unit service.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 600,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 250 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Website: http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

For press queries contact:

Smile Foundation: Jaya Shroff
Email Id: jaya.shroff@smilefoundationindia.org