Ponty Chadha Foundation Walks the Talk on Rural Healthcare

India has 70% of its population coming from rural sectors and a majority of them don’t have free healthcare access. Consequently, this segment of the country relies majorly on aid coming from the govt., NGOs and charities.

Additionally, India spends only about 4.2% of its GDP on healthcare which strains out its healthcare landscape. It is because of all these reasons that villages like Kuriagarhi are reeling under lack of healthcare avenues.

The village was recently a part of a drive held by Ponty Chadha Foundation aimed at boosting rural healthcare which saw a health camp being hosted within the village providing the villagers with an opportunity to access free health check-up and medication.

Things started off early at 1000 hours as enthused villagers started queuing up at the allocated point where registrations were being held. Volunteers from the Ponty Chadha Foundation along with doctors and paramedics from Indo German Hospital ensured every attendee had their name and age put down on an OPD card to be used for recording diagnosis.

It was found during the examinations that the village showed a high percentage of cases of hypertension and joint pain. Upon interaction with the villagers, it was learnt that most of these cases were the result of lack of medicare options and knowledge about treating early symptoms.
Some of the attendees had to be guided to the Indo German Hospital where they will receive advanced care and diagnostics.

Anticipating a huge gathering, volunteers of the Ponty Chadha Foundation had made arrangements for crowd control and management. A registration kiosk was set up to control the proceedings as the villagers waited out their turns to see the doctors.

A short session on the importance of early diagnosis and treatment was also held where volunteers of the Foundation urged the villagers not to procrastinate medical help.  By 1300 hours, all the attendees had been examined and tended to.

Ponty Chadha Foundation is the CSR wing of one of the biggest business conglomerates in India, the Wave Group. The Foundation is active in areas of special education and early child care and has Mr.Manpreet Chadha (Monty Chadha) as the Vice Chairman.

The Ponty Chadha Foundation: Facilitating Rural Healthcare

With the United Nations report hinting towards chronic lack of medical facilities in rural areas, it is needless to underline that healthcare system in India has never been inclusive. While 75% of the healthcare system, including doctors and infrastructure, is concentrated in urban areas, rural India with almost 716 million people, faces critical health issues. Even though current healthcare infrastructure is centred on metropolitan cities, the irony remains that it is accessible to only those who can afford it.

One of the most critical requirements for an effective healthcare system in rural India is that of doctors. It is a matter of acute importance that rural India faces a shortage of doctors, as much as 64%.

The UN report suggests a shortage of more than 12,300 specialist doctors. Cognitive to this shortage, The Ponty Chadha Foundation (PCF), along with the Indo German Hospital, regularly organizes medical camps in the remote areas of North India and Delhi NCR.

With an aim to empower medical facilities in these areas, the Foundation set up another medical camp in the Village Inayatpur.  The camp which was held on 17^th December started off its proceedings at 1000 hours. While the assemblage started queuing up in the early hours of the day, the Foundation’s’ volunteers were well-prepared to manage them well.  Administering free aid and advice on general health, the camp had a specialized team of doctors from the Indo German Hospital which also looked into critical health conditions.

The camp which was set up in the premises of the Pradhan’s residence had ample space to accommodate the registration process and seating arrangement. Since it was a strong turnout, the volunteers were kept on their toes while facilitating free check-ups.

A total of 141 patients out of 350 families attended the camp, during which they were guided through check points with OPD cards. During the course of the camp, it came out that a majority of the villagers suffered from respiratory and gastro related health problems. The volunteers in conversation with the locals also confirmed that various skin and gynaecological problems were also common in the residents of Inayatpur.

Benefitting from the camp, a large percentage of residents got free medicines from the doctors and others with critical issues were further recommended to the Indo German Hospital.

The Ponty Chadha Foundation, CSR arm of Wave Group, is now a prominent name in social drives, and endeavours towards a healthy India by constantly organizing free health camps in remote areas.