Page 35 - Reliance Foundation Annual Report 2022-23

32 Health
Enriching lives
through quality
healthcare
Health Outreach
Initiatives
Supporting most at-need communities to access
quality healthcare, the Health Outreach programme
of Reliance Foundation promotes preventive
healthcare alongside delivering general and
specialized therapeutic care for all groups of people
in collaboration with other institutions.
These initiatives strengthen community well-being
and health besides focused interventions on key
health problems.
Through FY 2022-23, various health outreach efforts
reached 1,38,000 people through more than 5,80,000
consultations. Mobile Medical Units are the
programme’s mainstay and help take medical care to
the doorsteps of communities; MMUs facilitated
2,88,000 consultations in multiple locations during the
year. The programme’s community health centers, also
called static medical units, and health camps
complement MMUs in facilitating healthcare access.
Besides providing general primary and preventive care,
the programme runs focused initiatives to reduce the
burden of health conditions like anemia, malnutrition,
preventable blindness, cancers and other
non-communicable diseases like hypertension and
diabetes in vulnerable groups. Of the 34,000 women
and girls, aged 15 to 49 years, who were screened for
anemia during the year, 19,827 were found to be
anemic. The programme provides free treatment to
those with anemia and regularly follows up with them.
Recognising that malnutrition during childhood is
associated with adverse health outcomes later in adult
life, the programme aims to identify malnutrition early
in the communities it works with. Creating awareness
about nutrition is also an important component of this
initiative. In FY 2022-23, 16,094 children were
screened for malnutrition. Of these, 464 children were
found to be have Moderate Acute Malnutrition and
228 children had Severe Acute Malnutrition.
The programme also works with adults and children
living with HIV and ensures their access to care and
Reliance Foundation | Annual Report 2022-23
support. It provided 25,500 consultations during FY
2022-23, facilitating access of People Living with HIV
(PLHIV) to treatment and helping them adhere to the
treatment regimen. The initiative also provides
nutrition kits to children with HIV to ensure their
well-being and health.
To help detect cancers early, Reliance Foundation has
been screening high-risk individuals in vulnerable
communities. The programme focusses on reducing the
burden of oral cancers, breast and cervical cancer.
People suspected to have cancer following screening
are supported in obtaining a diagnosis and care.
Reliance Foundation also provided support to
Lalbaugcha Raja Dialysis Center, which is currently
catering to 184 patients through 24 machines.
33
Laying the ground for
a malnourishment-free
anaemia-free future
Anika, an 18-month-old infant in Jalditola village
of Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh was found
to be malnourished in April 2022. Anika’s mother
Sushila was also undernourished. Anika was started
on nutritional supplements and regularly assessed
at one of Reliance Foundation’s Mobile Medical
Units (MMU) in Shahdol. Anika has now recovered
from malnourishment.
To help children like Anika and to help communities
in Shahdol overcome malnourishment and anaemia,
Reliance Foundation has adopted a two-pronged
strategy. First, mothers and children who are
undernourished are supported with supplements and
are regularly assessed at MMUs. Second, Reliance
Nutrition Gardens set up in many homes and
Anganwadis are helping over 4,500 households in
Shahdol get fresh vegetable produce and consume
nutritious food.