Keeping in mind the need for extensive COVID-19 testing, Ericsson India Global Services Pvt. Ltd. (Ericsson) has joined hands with Smile Foundation to support government initiatives to collect Covid test samples for testing at designated Government labs in Chennai and Pune. This effort will speed up Covid testing in these cities.
Ericsson has been supporting Smile on Wheels, mobile medical units of Smile Foundation, in four locations: Noida, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Gurugram and Ericsson E-Health Clinics in Pune and Chennai. Both organizations are committed to provide quality healthcare services at the doorstep of underserved communities free of cost to support the secondary and tertiary healthcare outreach of the government. Over the past five years, approximately 5 lakh underserved people have benefitted from Smile on Wheels as part of this partnership and the number of beneficiaries from this program will grow manifold in the years to come.
As the demand for healthcare professionals is increasing, this partnership aims to skill more than 5,000 youth in the age group of 18-30 years as healthcare professionals namely General Duty Assistant and professionals providing allied healthcare services. A total of 40 Ericsson skill development centers in Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Pune, and Kolkata have been set up to train youth from slums. Over the past five years, Ericsson and Smile Foundation have touched the lives of approximately 25,000 youth and placed approximately 15,000 in formal sector jobs.
Speaking at a virtual roundtable organized on February 12 by Smile Foundation, Dr. Randeep Guleria, Director, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) said, “Primary healthcare is the first contact point for any beneficiary. We need to strengthen it as much as possible as this will reduce the burden on tertiary health care which in turn will help improve the quality of healthcare overall.”
Durga Shakti Nagpal, (Indian Administrative Officer), said, “The government has mandated corporates to invest in defined areas and I feel that health is an important area where the government has given a big impetus through this year’s budget. CSR initiatives in this sector will help in strengthening the overall health care in India.”
Amitabh Ray, MD, Ericsson India Global Services said, “Our partnership with Smile Foundation has evolved to include a fresh focus on COVID-19, both in terms of healthcare services to underserved communities as well as skill building. We want to complement and strengthen the Government’s healthcare initiatives against the pandemic in terms of emergency response as well as skill building of the youth living in slum clusters.”
Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and Trustee, Smile Foundation, said, “Smile recognizes the urgent need for a robust healthcare ecosystem. It is our privilege to join hands with Ericsson in this unique initiative for enhancing the reach of government in collecting samples of covid-19 patients and complementing the efforts of the government in providing primary healthcare services and Skill-India Mission. We have been associated with Ericsson for the past five years now, and we aim at supporting India’s healthcare systems and the upcoming generation by employing tools of tele-medicine and engaging the youth of the country.”
