Vedanta Aluminium supports hundreds of TB patients across Odisha under Ni-kshay Mitra
26th June 2023
- The company marks successful completion of the first phase of the program at Jharsuguda, aimed at supporting Government of India’s ‘TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ campaign.
Jharsuguda; 26th June 2023: Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has announced the successful completion of Phase I of the Ni-kshay Mitra program in Jharsuguda. As part of this initiative, aimed at supporting the Government of India’s ambitious ‘TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan’ (TB-Free India Campaign), the company has been supporting nearly 550 tuberculosis patients across Jharsuguda and Kalahandi districts in Odisha since last year. Aligned with the Prime Minister’s vision for a TB-free India, the company has actively collaborated with the district administrations in Jharsuguda and Kalahandi to maximize community awareness of tuberculosis (TB) and extend support to those in need of specialized care.
The Ni-kshay Mitra program aims to eliminate stigmas associated with the disease, encouraging citizens to symbolically adopt tuberculosis patients and provide them with the crucial support needed for their recovery, including proper nutrition and guidance. Vedanta Aluminium’s support towards the Ni-kshay Mitra program has been instrumental in enabling enhanced healthcare access and providing much-needed assistance to several tuberculosis patients in Jharsuguda and Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district. By focusing on quality nutrition and counselling, the program has played a vital role in improving the lives of the patients. Additionally, the company’s Mobile Health Units (MHUs), which are fully-equipped vans that visit remote areas in the state to provide primary healthcare free-of-charge, have also been involved in screening and encouraging community members showing symptoms of TB to undergo further tests at government facilities.
Sharing Vedanta Aluminium’s health interventions for the community, Mr. Sunil Gupta, CEO – Vedanta Limited, Jharsuguda, said, “The health and well-being of our community is a top priority for Vedanta Aluminium. In response to the Prime Minister’s call for a ‘TB Mukt Bharat’, we are honoured to join forces with the Jharsuguda District Administration to raise awareness about tuberculosis. Our initiatives in this regard augment the comprehensive health and wellbeing programs that we undertake for community members.” Adding his views, Mr. GG Pal, Dy. CEO – Alumina Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “Tuberculosis is a debilitating disease that can be overcome through timely interventions, and we are proud to support the Ni-kshay Mitra program to maximise community awareness on the disease in Lanjigarh. By ensuring good health within our neighbouring communities, we also unlock added opportunities for their growth and progress.”
Speaking on the partnership with Vedanta Aluminium, Dr. Dolamani Patel, Chief District Medical Officer and Public Health Officer of Jharsuguda, said, “Our collaboration with Vedanta aims to raise awareness among individuals on tuberculosis, its prevention, and available treatments. Further, by providing necessary support to the needy, this campaign is significantly contributing towards eradicating TB from our society. Through our joint efforts, we aim to create a healthier and stronger nation.”
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 and over 22,000 patients across 65 villages in Kalahandi district.
- Nand Ghars: Through its Nand Ghars, which are modernized anganwadis that act as community 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 and Lanjigarh with the assistance of medical personnel from government hospitals, providing free-of-cost, quality healthcare in remote parts of Odisha. The health camp initiative in Lanjigarh has had more than 4000 unique beneficiaries in FY23 alone.
- 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 community members to clean and disinfect drains & streets to help prevent infectious diseases.
- Vedanta Hospital, Lanjigarh: The Vedanta Hospital at Lanjigarh provides free-of-cost medical facilities to over 60,000 people from Kalahandi and adjoining districts annually.
- Cataract Surgeries: Our operations at Lanjigarh provide cataract surgeries to those in need, helping over 220 people attain improved vision in FY23
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
Follow us on LinkedIN, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Disclaimer:
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” – that is, statements related to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address our expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “seeks,” “should” or “will.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For us, uncertainties arise from the behaviour of financial and metals markets including the London Metal Exchange, fluctuations in interest and or exchange rates and metal prices; from future integration of acquired businesses; and from numerous other matters of national, regional, and global scale, including those of a political, economic, business, competitive or regulatory nature. These uncertainties may cause our actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in our forward-looking statements. We do not undertake to update our forward-looking statements.
