Centurial achievement by Wockhardt Foundation’s Mobile 1000, a quality, free primary healthcare service for rural India

–          In Mumbai, Mobile 1000 health vans have benefitted about 2,90,543 people till date

January 16, 2015, Mumbai: Wockhardt Foundation celebrates its milestone achievement of 100^th Mobile 1000 health van today expanding its healthcare services to Vaijapur village in Aurangabad. Launched in 2007, Wockhardt Foundation’s ISO 9001:2008 approved Mobile 1000 programme has been successfully administering high quality, free, primary healthcare services to growing number of rural areas across India. So far, it has benefitted about 1,36,78,633 (13.67 million) people from a total of 1560 villages in 15 states across India. The first Mobile 1000 van was launched in Mumbai in 2007, and has since then grown to 12 vans. These health vans cover the areas of Chembur, Govandi, Vikhroli, Bharat Nagar, Byculla, South Mumbai and has benefitted 2,90,543 rural and slum people till December 2014. In the state of Maharashtra, about 13 Mobile 1000 health vans have benefitted a total of 3,29,536 people till December 2014 from 153 villages/rural areas of Nasik, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Raigad and Vaijapur.

Dr. Huz (Dr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala), Trustee and CEO – Wockhardt Foundation said, “Tackling the national concern of dearth of rural healthcare facilities is the need of the hour. According to the National Rural Health Mission, mobile health vans traversing in rural areas are the best solution to address this problem. In this regard, Wockhardt Foundation’s Mobile 1000 health van is glad to provide quality, free, basic healthcare services to underprivileged people of Mumbai and Maharashtra. Today, is a proud moment for our Mobile 1000 programme as it achieves a milestone of 100 mobile health vans. We thank all our partners and sponsors for helping us achieve this milestone. Mobile 1000 plans to partner with various corporates and PSUs to expand healthcare services to many more slums in and around Mumbai as well as rural areas of Maharashtra.”

The existing sponsors for Mobile 1000 health van in Mumbai are Rashtriya Chemical Fertilizers (RCF) Wockhardt Hospitals and Tata Power.  Sponsors for rest of Maharshtra are HPCL, Vaijapur Merchants Co-Op Bank, Allana, Wockhardt Hospitals, Welspun and Tata Power.

                                                    Need

Healthcare facilities in rural India have been consistently suffering from 4 A’s i.e. Availability, Accessibility, Affordability and Acceptability. 700 million people live in India’s 6,36,000 villages, but these locales only have 23000 primary health care centers among them. 66% of rural Indians do not even have access to critical medicines and 31% of the rural population travel more than 30 kilometers to seek health care. Rural healthcare is critically short of trained medical personnel. The Mobile 1000 programme of Wockhardt Foundation fulfills this dire need.

The Mobile 1000 health van equipped with a GPS tracking system consists of a MBBS doctor, a pharmacist, a co-ordinator, a driver, medicine supply and basic diagnostic equipment. The van travels across villages conducting free OPD/health screening for rural people and providing free basic health services at their doorsteps. The Mobile 1000 initiative is based on ADCR formula i.e. Awareness, Diagnosis, Cure and Referrals

Mobile 1000 highlights

• Awareness of hygiene, sanitation, hygienic water consumption, mother and child healthcare, immunization, anaemia, de-worming, vector borne diseases, hepatitis, typhoid, common cardiac problems, HIV, diabetes, snake bite, Tuberculosis
• Diagnosis of blood pressure, hemoglobin levels, oxygen saturation, malaria, hepatitis, dengue, typhoid, diabetes, urine tests
• Cure through appropriate treatment with help of medicines, nutritional supplements, de-worming
• Referrals to specialist doctors for patient cases requiring specialty care – Cataract, Surgical, Gynecology, Obstetrics, Pediatrics

To know more: www.mobile1000.org