The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
NEW DELHI, JUNE 08, 2021
NITI Aayog and Piramal Foundation today launched the ‘Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyaan’ campaign in 112 Aspirational Districts to assist the district administrations in providing home-care support to Covid-19 patients who are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
This campaign is under the special initiative – the Aspirational Districts Collaborative – in which local leaders, civil societies and volunteers will work with the District administrations to address emerging problems in a district across key focus areas of the Aspirational Districts Programme.
The campaign will be led by the district magistrates of the Aspirational Districts in partnership with over 1000 local NGOs that will enlist and train over 1 lakh volunteers to connect with patients through inbound/outbound calls. Piramal Foundation will support districts administration in the training of NGOs and volunteers.
Launching the campaign, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said, “Surakshit Hum Surakshit Tum Abhiyaan is a significant initiative that responds to immediate needs and will provide long-term support to India’s poorest communities in the Aspirational Districts by addressing the lasting impact of Covid-19.”
The campaign is expected to play a key role in district preparedness for managing nearly 70 per cent of Covid cases at home, reducing pressure on the health system, and stemming the spread of fear amongst the people. The campaign will also undertake capacity building of citizens for correct usage of Oxygen concentrators that have been supplied to these districts.
NGOs will mobilize local volunteers to provide home-care support to those affected, based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Volunteers will be trained to support 20 affected families each by educating caretakers to follow Covid protocols, provide psycho-social support and timely updates about patients to the administration.
“In line with Piramal Foundation’s value of sewa, we aim to reach every affected person in the 112 Aspirational Districts. We call all stakeholders — Government, NGOs, communities, and others—to join hands and offer their service in this initiative of the Aspirational Districts Collaborative,” said Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal.
