IIT-H fellow launches Vaccination On Wheels in collaboration with Gates Foundation

Jigneh Patel, a fellow at Center for Healthcare Entrepreneurship (CfHE) at Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad has launched a ‘Vaccination on Wheels Clinic’ in Pune city’s PCMC area, Maharashtra. The one of its kind service has been started in collaboration with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He had received a grant for the service under the Foundation’s ‘Grand Challenges Explorations’. He then founded Jivika Healthcare to provide this vaccination service.

About ‘Vaccination On Wheels’ service

Called ‘VaccineOnWheels.com’, it will offer only vaccination services. As the service has adopted Vaccination On Wheels (VOW) concept, this clinic will go to schools, colleges and corporates to conduct vaccination camps at their doorsteps. It is a unique, unconventional, creative, low-cost and high on convenience model that has been designed with idea of reaching the bottom of the pyramid.

The VOW service will work hand-in-hand with government to make vaccines available to the lowest strata of society.

Through VOW, awareness camps are also being conducted with the help of group discussions and animated videos designed in Marathi and Hindi languages. The clinic is motivating mothers to avail free vaccination from government.

Services Provided: There are many additional features which makes it a unique vaccination service, which includes– providing low-cost vaccination service to low-income groups; raising awareness about government’s immunization programme; selling only those vaccines which are not provided through government; getting children fully immunized as per World Health Organization (WHO) and Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) standards for children who are taking vaccination from government centres; the service also boasts of cold chain maintenance as per WHO guidelines.

About Grand Challenges Explorations

It is a US $100 million initiative funded by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF). It supports innovative thinkers worldwide to explore ideas that can break the mould in how we solve persistent global health and development challenges. Jignesh Patel’s project was one of approximately 50 Grand Challenges Explorations for which grants were announced by BMGF.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019