Category: Science & Technology

Bengaluru-based Anahat Foundation deals with identifying, preventing and counselling the patients suffering from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and hypertension. Rani Desai, 70, manages the operations and devises public health programmes, while daughter Priya handles communications and funding for the foundation.

‘Prevention is better than cure’ is as simple as that for Rani Desai, 70, and Priya, 40, the mother-daughter duo behind Anahat Foundation that is focused on improving access to primary and preventive healthcare for the urban poor.

The Bengaluru-based foundation that emerged as one of the winners at the recently concluded SVP (Social Ventures Partners) India Fast Pitch 2024, a virtual fundraiser event, is proving to be a major lifeline for the urban poor who lack access to basic healthcare. The foundation which was started seven years ago was offering preventive and primary healthcare to the rural population and later expanded to the urban region, given the growing demand for primary healthcare needs.

Rani and Priya come with a rich experience in public service as consultants and members of various humanitarian projects. Rani worked with Biocon Foundation for 12 years and has also served as an independent public health consultant for seven years before co-founding Anahat with her daughter in 2017.

Meanwhile, Priya, a journalism student who has worked as a copywriter in the advertising industry, worked as a consultant with India Water Portal that dealt with water issues in India and moved on to the role of a marketing and communication manager with Pratham Books, a non-profit children’s book publisher.

At Anahat the mother-daughter duo somewhat replicates similar roles wherein Rani manages the operations and devises public health programmes, and Priya handles communications and funding for the foundation.

“My mother and my family members have been actively involved in public service for a long time. My brother and I grew up doing philanthropic work. When I worked as a copywriter in the advertising industry, I realized it was not the right fit; which is when I shifted gears towards public service along with my mother,” said Priya.

Most of the work by the foundation deals with identifying, preventing and counselling the patients suffering from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and hypertension, among others.

The services are targeted mainly towards economically disadvantaged families who lack access to public healthcare.

These services are accorded to patients through Anahat Clinic located in the heart of Bengaluru in Shantinagar.

“During our assessment we found out that 70 per cent of the poor people don’t avail themselves of the public health services despite knowing that it is cost-free. This is because of the trust deficit in the public healthcare system and the lack of resources in government hospitals,” said Priya, who also partners with various NGOs to conduct free community health camps in slum areas in Bengaluru.

The clinic that garners over 50-100 footfalls daily on an average, provides a wide of range of primary care services for free including free medical consultation with a full-time registered allopath, free medicines including 100 different medicines stocked based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) list of essential drugs for primary care, free diagnostic tests, including WHO recommended panel of 70 tests like blood and urine tests, X-rays, scans and MRIs.

The foundation also partnered with Medtronic Labs to introduce Prerna, a special programme for people living with diabetes, hypertension, and co-morbid diseases. With Prerna, the foundation integrates social and clinical interventions in a group setting with patients at the Anahat Clinic every week, focussing on the social and behavioural determinants of diabetes and hypertension. Patients also receive ongoing medication, lab testing, and doctor visits to address clinical needs.

The Anahat clinic also offers counselling and therapy sessions called ‘Ananda’ for individuals, couples and parents by engaging them in role-play therapy to strengthen social and interpersonal skills and help patients learn techniques to manage and deal with stress.

“The major challenge for us has been to make the patients understand that there is something more than medication. It is challenging to help them understand that diet, change in lifestyle, regular exercises among other changes are as integral as medications. For example, we can’t recommend a diabetic patient from an economically weaker background to have millets. It’s not part of their diet,” said Priya.

According to Priya, raising funds is a major hurdle because Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds are mostly project-based and not long term. “We are looking at long-term health programmes to prevent disorders at an early stage. It has been difficult for us to raise funds on these lines,” she mentioned.

With the recent grant of Rs 10 lakh which they won at the fundraiser event, the foundation will now spend the same in covering people costs, delivery of health care programmes, training for nurses and other medical professionals.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)