Jharsuguda, Odisha: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminum, recently concluded a series of awareness drives on tuberculosis (TB) in Jharsuguda, reaching out to more than 3,500 residents across 13 villages. Organized in observance of World Tuberculosis Day, under the theme ‘Yes, we can end TB’, the company’s Mobile Health Units (MHUs) conducted informative sessions on TB, such as causative pathogens, testing, medication and treatment, diet plans, and government facilities available to those affected. The team also distributed Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) materials as a ready reckoner for the local communities on TB and its treatment.
Responding to the Prime Minister’s clarion call for a ‘TB Mukt Bharat’, the company has also pledged its support towards the Ni-kshay Mitra program in Jharsuguda. The Ni-kshay Mitra program is a Government of India initiative to eliminate TB from the country by 2025. It focuses on reducing the stigma around tuberculosis by urging citizens to engage with and support tuberculosis patients. Vedanta has pledged to provide nutritional and treatment support to over 350 TB patients in the district, from December 2022 to May 2023.
Speaking on the occasion, Sunil Gupta, CEO – Vedanta Jharsuguda, said, “Through this week-long program, we aim to maximise community awareness and dispel the stigma associated with tuberculosis. Community health is an important pillar of our social endeavours, and we have deployed initiatives such as Mobile Health Units for door-to-door service, health camps, and an upcoming Pathology Lab & Diagnostic Centre, to help improve the quality of life in the region. Beyond health, we are also working in the areas of sustainable livelihood, quality education, skill development, women’s empowerment and community infrastructure, to bring about socio-economic transformation in the lives of local communities.”
Bhujraj Patel, an attendee at the company’s awareness program in Jharsuguda, said, “We had always assumed that TB was an incurable disease, with the treatment being prohibitively expensive. Through the awareness program, we got to learn that timely intervention and proper care can help cure this disease completely. I thank Vedanta for conducting the program in our village.”
Vedanta Aluminium provides a wide spectrum of basic and specialized health services in and around its areas of operations, including:
- Mobile Health Units: The company operates Mobile Health Units in its areas of operation, providing basic doorstep healthcare services, as per a pre-determined schedule, to more than 54,000 people annually in remote villages across Jharsuguda.
- Nand Ghars: Through its Nand Ghars, which are modernized anganwadis that act as centres of women & child development, Vedanta Aluminium provides quality healthcare and proper nutrition to young children, pregnant women, and new mothers.
- Health camps: The company regularly conducts mega health camps in Jharsuguda with the assistance of medical personnel from government hospitals, providing free-of-cost, quality healthcare in remote parts of Odisha.
- Sanitation drives: To promote health and hygiene in the community, the company also organises cleanliness & sanitation drives where hygiene practices like handwashing are promoted. Moreover, employee volunteers work with the local populace to clean and disinfect drains & streets to help prevent infectious diseases.
