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PIRAMAL FOUNDATION - FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19

Piramal Foundation
May 08, 2020

 SUPPORTING GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO MINIMIZE THE IMPACT OF COVID-1

PIRAMAL SWASTHYA - HEALTH
Health helplines responding to COVID-19 queries and tracking home quarantined individuals.

  • Our 104 Health Helplines are operational across 8 states (Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Bihar).
  • 830 staff in helpline call-centres have been trained and equipped to handle calls related to COVID-19.
  • Between 12th and 28th March, 12,45,310 calls made out of which 2,22,071 (28.9%) have been related to COVID-19. 
  • The call-centre team in Assam has been supporting the state government in tracking individuals who have been home quarantined. Nearly 20,000 quarantined individuals are called once a day to check for symptoms and if are they following the quarantine protocols. Escalation is made if any deviation is found.
  • Plan to start tracking home quarantined in other states.

Financial and Planning Support to the Central and Maharashtra State Government.
  • Mr Ajay Piramal, Chairman of Piramal Group has been leading and guiding an informal group of senior professionals and businessmen in working with the Maharashtra state government to enhance healthcare capacity, debottlenecking pharma and non-pharma essential products (PPEs, masks etc), reaching out to counterparts to enlist them in the partnership, enhancing healthcare workforce, food provision for migrants and homeless, etc.
  • Have offered operating helpline and telemedicine facilities for the state to leverage the capacity of doctors and specialists who are in short supply.
  • Financial assistance provided to the state government.
  • Pledged Rs. 25 Crores to the PM Cares Fund.

PIRAMAL SCHOOL OF LEADERSHIP - EDUCATION
Infrastructure & Awareness
  • PSL facility has been offered as an isolation centre.
  • PSL team members are sharing presentations and posters with teachers and headmasters via messaging apps.
  • Plans to leverage Virtual Field Support Centres to spread awareness to stakeholders and beneficiaries via messages and phone calls.

PIRAMAL SARVAJAL - WATER
At Water ATMs across locations, we are:
  • Creating awareness amongst users that fill water from the ATMs.
  • Asking users to wash their hands and utensils before filling water.
  • Implementing compulsory social distancing while waiting in queue.
  • Displaying a list of DOs and DON’Ts and posters on the correct ways of handwashing.


ASPIRATIONAL DISTRICTS: HEALTH
(Support proposed/offered to the district administration in Aspirational Districts)

I. 
Community-Level Support
Telephonic follow-up and tracking of individuals under Home Quarantine:
  • District and block level teams engaged in following up with individuals who have a history of travel from affected areas or who have been home quarantined.
  • Enquiring about the status of home quarantine, checking for symptoms, providing information about the disease transmission and its prevention, providing contact details for essential services.

Engagement with PRI members for tracking and monitoring in their gram panchayats
  • Leveraging connections made with PRI members for the recent POSHAN training to telephonically orient them about COVID-19 and how to prevent transmission.
  • If at-risk individuals or contacts develop symptoms, PRI members to inform the Piramal Foundation team, who will coordinate with the health department and district administration.
  • PRI members to reach out if there are issues around the provision of essential supplies in the panchayat, for which the team can coordinate with the district administration.

Communication Activities
  • Faith leaders: Leveraging the existing network of Faith Leaders in the ADT districts and orienting them telephonically about COVID-19 transmission, prevention and myths/misconceptions about the disease.

Communication Material
Develop and disseminate through “non-contact” channels:
  • Channels such as public announcements and community radio to be used to spread key messages.
  • Video content to be developed and screened in hospital wards or disseminated via WhatsApp.


II. System-Level Support
Orientation/Training for Frontline Workers (FLWs):

  • Piramal Foundation team at block level to orient frontline workers around COVID-19 transmission, prevention and the role of frontline workers in active surveillance and contact tracing.

Monitoring of home-visits made by FLWs through phone calls:
  • Piramal Foundation team at the block level to telephonically monitor the home visits made by FLWs, make note of progress/coverage of home visits and coordinate with district administration/health department for any follow-up action.

Facility Preparedness
  • Assessing the preparedness of quarantine and isolation facilities in the blocks and districts, identifying gaps and working with the district administration to bridge the gaps.
  • Supply Chain Management: Piramal Foundation team to monitor and track key supplies at the state, district and block level on a daily basis.

Analytical Support
Piramal Foundation team to provide data analysis support at the district, state and national levels:
  • Forecasting disease burden in ADT districts to inform facility preparedness.
  • Tracking the status of quarantined and isolated individuals.
  • Monitoring facility-wise pneumonia or influenza-like illnesses.

Control Room Support
Piramal Foundation district teams to become part of the Control Rooms set up under the purview of the District Administration to address queries and complaints. 

*Data as of 31st March 2020