PnG Health, Apnalaya collaborate to improve maternal, newborn health in Mumbai urban slums

Mr. Milind Thatte, Managing Director, P&G Health India said, "P&G Health is committed to building a Healthier India through our CSR program 'SEHAT'. Our interventions in the areas of maternal and child health in rural India are in line with this commitment. And on World Health Day, we are delighted to announce our partnership with Apnalaya, who will now help extend technology enabled point-of-care diagnostics to urban communities towards improving antenatal care services. The project will enable screening to identify high-risk pregnancies, help educate on maternal health and nutrition, and ensure uptake of antenatal care and post-natal care services offered by government healthcare providers. It will also build capacity amongst community health workers to provide counselling and support for pregnant women and families."

Community health workers or Aarogya Sakhis are trained by Apnalaya and empowered with a mobile-based application called AnandiMaa for monitoring, reporting and decision support for high-risk pregnancy follow-ups, which has been developed by Apnalaya's technology partner CareNX Innovations. The app is a decision support tool that analyses the data from antenatal tests and recommends an appropriate line of support so that high-risk complications are managed early, while a web portal/dashboard helps stakeholders access data when needed and deliver care effectively. Along with this, an antenatal care kit with smartphone integrated portable diagnostic devices is provided at the government healthcare facility to support service provision. The kit includes simple point-of-care tests to assess blood pressure, haemoglobin levels, urine protein and sugar, blood sugar, fundal height, and foetal heart rate that are critical to monitor during pregnancy.

Commenting on the project, Mr. Praveen Singh, CEO, Apnalaya, said, "We are happy to partner with P&G Health to extend this successful model to yet another ward in Mumbai, build healthcare capacity, and improve access to antenatal care for the urban poor. Over the last few years, we have had encouraging results from our work in the healthcare facilities in the M East Ward. Our ultimate goal is to expand this program all over Mumbai, and our work with P&G Health is a step forward in that direction."

P&G Health's 'SEHAT' (recently awarded the 'Best Public Health Program' at the India Health and Wellness Awards 2022) comprises a host of programs dedicated towards public health. These include 'Swasthya Sakhi', a rural community outreach program in partnership with the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), which helps to digitize health information, conduct primary diagnostics on pregnant women, and refer high-risk cases to the nearest Public Health Centres (PHCs); and 'Yes to Poshan', in association with Tata Trusts, which aims to advance the nutritional status of women and children in the Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh.