Author: Alisha Moopen, Executive Director and CEO – Aster DM Healthcare
In today’s world, where we are constantly challenged by issues like growing inequality, poverty, evolving health and environmental risks; we as business leaders are always faced with hard questions on how do we make our businesses sustainable to have a positive impact on the society. I believe that the responsibility lies with us to seed sustainability and inclusion into the DNA of our organisations. In healthcare, the concept of care goes beyond business profitability and addresses the need to make a sustainable positive difference in the lives of the people that we serve every day.
Over the past three decades, Aster DM Healthcare has created a space for itself in society not just as a healthcare conglomerate, but also as a company that ‘cares’. Living by its brand promise of “We’ll treat you well,” the company has been involved in various projects and execute strategies to support communities in partnership with governments, civil society and relevant stakeholders across geographies. For us, corporate social responsibility is embedded in the heart of our long-term business strategy, which strives to create a sustainable economic environment and serve the community with compassion and care.
Although multiple corporate social responsibility initiatives are being run by Aster DM Foundation, Aster Volunteers Global Programme remains integral to multiple initiatives being run by our employees across countries where we have a presence. Introduced in 2017, Aster Volunteers programme aims to envision Dr. Azad Moopen’s dream to serve and build a healthier and sustainable society.
The programme seeks to bridge the gap between people who would like to help with those in need. It helps elevate the quality of life of millions, especially the disadvantaged sections of the society. The combination of both medical as well as non-medical services is continuously working towards making a positive difference in the lives of people. So far, the project has 8000+ registered volunteers, both internal employees and external volunteers, who have touched over 700,000 lives.
The programme functions within a multi-dimensional framework known as the ‘Big 6’. These dimensions guide the many social interventions that the organisation undertakes to reach out to needy communities and individuals. These dimensions constitute Mobile Medical Service facilities that has treated over 300,000 individuals, the Basic Life Support (BLS) Awareness external program which has trained 127,831 individuals, free surgeries and investigations that helped 19,146 people, recruitment of 70 differently abled employees and 327,008 individuals were treated through 2,192 free medical camps. In addition, disaster management support and humanitarian aid have been provided to victims of flood-hit Kerala, famine hit Somalia and Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
As a community-conscious, socially-responsible and value-based organization, we remain committed to give back to the society and enable people to live better lives. By focusing our CSR activities on the principal areas of Health, Hygiene and Education, Aster DM Healthcare is reinforcing its commitment towards creating a sustainable impact in the lives of people. Moving forward, as we continue to strengthen its core competencies, we will strive to touch more lives in the days to come.
