Health

Joining Karnataka’s fight against the COVID second wave, we focused its initiatives towards the need of the hour by launching a fleet of modified buses under the ‘OxyBus-Let Karnataka Breathe’ initiative and ensured that a constant supply of oxygen is made available to people in need, especially those queuing at triage centres and government hospitals.

Since its inception, the OxyBus initiative evolved, as the need for healthcare support shifted from urban to rural parts of the country. It expanded its interventions, from supplying medical oxygen to providing ambulatory services in various taluks of rural Karnataka. The OxyBus initiative ran for the months of May-June 2021.

The rural sector makes up for nearly 65% of India’s total population. Families in these communities are often rendered vulnerable by lack of information, infrastructure and awareness. Moreover, in the pandemic era, a large number of individuals in the sector are falling short of protection through vaccines, primarily due to inaccessibility and hesitancy to get vaccinated. Today, data indicates full vaccinations administered to less than 5% of the country’s population.

In a move that hopes to address this growing concern, we launched the VacciVan Initiative in July 2021. Accompanied by medical staff from primary health centres, VacciVans will be deployed to remote villages in the district to administer vaccinations against COVID-19. The vans have vaccinated over 500000 people daily and furnished them with important COVID-related information.

Our health intervention progressed in the form of community outreach through the Young Warriors Campaign. This is an information-driven campaign that helps secure the safety of families, neighborhoods, and people in the community in rural areas. By engaging these young individuals, we facilitate a safe space for learning about verified COVID information, vaccine hesitancy, and COVID homecare, as well as participating in our partner YuWaah India’s Covid Academy through tech and low-tech platforms.

To tackle the ongoing health crisis through better accessibility, we launched our first free-of-cost ambulatory service in Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Operating between 9 am and 9 pm, the ambulance is available for all emergencies concerning Covid-19 patients as well as trauma & casualties. It aims to boost existing healthcare infrastructure and equip frontline workers with the best possible resources in times of need.

In the coming months, we will run vaccination drives for our beneficiaries and distribute preventive care-kits for COVID as we continue to build resilience in our communities to tackle the pandemic through awareness and outreach programs.