Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and AquaKraft to Partner for Strengthening Healthcare Infrastructure and COVID-19 Response

In an endeavor to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and augment India’s efforts for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the Public Health Foundation of India and AquaKraft Projects Private Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch an Integrated Public Health Initiative – “ARAIKE LIFE”. This initiative will work in the areas of Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) with a focus on COVID Response Innovation.

The objective of ARAIKE LIFE, where ARAIKE means Care & LIFE mean Laying India’s Foundation for Empowerment, is to curate an integrated Public Health Programme in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This will be a composite of Infrastructure and capacity building at different levels, from rural to urban areas. This partnership aims to leverage the strong domain knowledge & expertise of PHFI along with the extensive on ground experience of AquaKraft in implementing complex drinking water and sanitation programs across rural India. 

Highlighting the importance of augmenting health systems, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, President, PHFI said, “Sustainable development is critical to India’s growth for ensuring the well-being of its people along with economic progress. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put considerable stress on India's limited healthcare infrastructure and resources. Sustainable infrastructure forms the bedrock of the capacity to meet the ongoing challenges and any unforeseen emergencies. Therefore, scaling up of existing health care facilities and augmenting health care infrastructure is essential not only to fight the ongoing pandemic but also to prevent any future public health emergencies. PHFI, which represents a Partnership for Public Purpose, in collaboration with AquaKraft, will engage and liaise with State and Central Governments, and assist in building a bridge between the district administration and communities by identifying and filling the demand and supply gaps in much needed healthcare infrastructure.”

Highlighting the need for innovative partnerships in public health, Dr. Subramanya Kusnur - Founder, AquaKraft Projects Pvt. Ltd. said, “AquaKraft has been advocating sustainability right since its inception in 2010 and we believe that Drinking Water & Sanitation has a direct impact on Public Health. It is a matter of great privilege for us to partner PHFI in the areas of SDGs and Public Health and I am very grateful to Prof. K Srinath Reddy for this phenomenal opportunity. Under his leadership we aim to curate ARAIKE LIFE as an all-inclusive, multi stakeholder program specific to each geography taking the local demographic & socio-economic parameters into consideration. In this regard we will be inviting qualified corporates to partner with us and fund this socially impactful development initiative.”

ARAIKE LIFE aims to facilitate this for the benefit of the young population of India, which is a great demographic dividend, thereby accelerating progress towards a healthy nation by 2030. To this effect, ARAIKE LIFE invites the Indian Diaspora, especially the Doctors to come and partner through knowledge sharing, best practices, evidence-based therapies, financial participation and contribute their mite to this Public Health Movement. ARAIKE LIFE aims to raise Rs. 100 crores in the initial phase in by inviting compatible Corporates to join this unique movement that paves India’s path from a Covid victory in 2021 to SDG success by 2030.

The intended impact of ARAIKE LIFE is ‘good health and well-being’ which is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal No. 3, ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’ in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goal No. 6 & “Partnership for Goals” in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal No. 17.

About the organizations

Public Health Foundation of India

www.phfi.org

The Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) is a not for profit public - private initiative, which represents a “Partnership for Public Purpose”. PHFI is a response to the limited public health institutional capacity and was established to strengthen training, research and policy through interdisciplinary health system connected education and training, policy and programme relevant research, evidence based & equity promoting policy development, affordable health technologies, people empowering health promotion & advocacy for prioritized health causes in the area of Public Health in India. The setting up of PHFI was enabled by the Government of India in 2006 (registered as a Society). The Foundation is headquartered in New Delhi and its constituent Indian Institutes of Public Health (IIPH) established by PHFI have a presence in Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Delhi NCR, Gandhinagar (Gujarat), Bhubaneswar (Odisha), Shillong (Meghalaya) and Bengaluru (Karnataka). The Foundation is managed by an empowered governing board comprising senior government officials, eminent Indian and international academic and scientific leaders, civil society representatives and corporate leaders.

AquaKraft Projects Pvt. Ltd.

www.aquakraft.net

AquaKraft was formed in 2010 and has been advocating sustainability right since its inception. AquaKraft specializes in developing and operating revenue generating models that contribute to resolving a global crisis in water management & distribution as also sanitation, through a time-tested technology that is GREEN, environment friendly and sustainable. AquaKraft has been awarded “Champions of Sustainable Solutions” by Economic Times and has been recognized as Drinking Water & Sanitation partner under UN SDG6 by the UN Global Compact Network India. AquaKraft has a joint R&D partnership with the prestigious Institute of Chemical Technology (formerly known as UDCT).