About Godrej Group 

Established in 1897, the Godrej Group has its roots in India’s Independence and Swadeshi movement. Founder, Ardeshir Godrej, lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur failed with a few ventures before he struck gold with a locks business.

Today, the patronage of 1.1 billion consumers globally across consumer goods, real estate, appliances, agriculture and many other businesses. In fact, their geographical footprint extends beyond Earth, with our engines now powering many of India’s space missions.

With revenue of over USD 4.1 billion, they are growing fast, and have exciting ambitious aspirations. Their Vision for 2020 is to be 10 times the size we were in 2010.

Approximately 23 per cent of the promoter holding in the Godrej Group is held in trusts that invest in the environment, health and education. They are also bringing together our passion and purpose to make a difference through our Good & Green strategy of ‘shared value’ to create a more inclusive and greener India.

About Malaria free India Conclave

In partnership with the Vector Control Research Center (VCRC), Indian Council of Medical Research(ICMR)   group organized, first of its kind conclave ” Achieving a malaria-free India” on 3rd August 2017 at Godrej One, Mumbai. 

Stakeholders representing thought leaders from government, academia, the private sector and social & non-profit organizations, discussed the need and merits of partnerships and collaborations in achieving a malaria-free India.

The key highlight of the conclave:

A panel discussion on ‘Partnerships and Collaborations towards achieving malaria-free India’. Insightful discussions on India’s current challenges, lessons from the past, the merits and challenges of partnerships, roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders and concrete next steps to make the vision a reality was discussed.

It was a power-packed panel comprising Prof. Dr. Sabesan, Senior Consultant, VCRC; Dr. Anup Anvikar, National Institute of Malaria Research (NIMR); Shireen Mistree, India Health Fund, Tata Trusts; Neeraj Jain, Country Director, India, PATH and Vivek Gambhir, Managing Director, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. Indrajit Gupta, Director and Co-founder, Founding Fuel moderated the panel.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group, said, “Malaria continues to be one of the most significant public health issues confronting India today, with about 1.5 million new cases detected every year. Our Health Ministry has endorsed the goal of achieving a malaria-free India by 2030. Given the scale of the vision outlined, the importance of partnerships and collaborations is paramount. In line with this, our conclave today aims to create and facilitate impactful conversations on malaria elimination among key thought leaders from the ecosystem.”

The Chief Guest of the conclave, Dr. Shampa Nag, Project Director, Caritas India, said, “Partnerships and collaborations present continuous opportunities within the ambit of multi-sectoral approach. They act as catalyzing factors for bridging the physical and behavioral barriers and enabling the motivators/influencers to expand the application of interventions as well as strengthening community systems alongside extending support to improve overall health systems. Leveraging distinctive strengths of stakeholders, the National Vector Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP), civil society organizations & corporate sector, donor & partner agencies, and others should reaffirm the commitment to advance our common elimination vision.”

About project EMBED 

Speaking at the conclave, Mr. Vivek Gambhir, Managing Director, Godrej Consumer Products Limited, said, “With project EMBED (Elimination of Mosquito Borne Endemic Diseases), we have embarked on a journey of collaboration with various stakeholders, including the government, social sector, and the community. With gradual reductions in the malaria burden in our pilot districts, our project model is a testament to the productivity and importance of partnerships. As a FMCG player with a robust household insecticide portfolio, we have brought financial resources, knowledge on mosquito behaviours and prevention strategies, and a strong understanding of community members, to the fight against malaria. To further our outreach efforts, we have partnered with the VCRC for this conclave and will continue to work in collaboration with them to develop an action-oriented way forward from the discussions of the conclave today.”

Malaria in India 

India has the highest malaria burden in the Asia Pacific region, with more than one billion people at risk of infection. Official estimates reveal 10 lakh cases of malaria reported in the country every year. India accounts for 70% of malaria cases and 69% of malaria deaths in the South East Asia region. Over 80% of India’s population lives in ‘malaria transmission high-risk’ areas

The Government of India has made a commitment to eliminate malaria from the country by 2030, in line with the National Framework for Malaria Elimination (NFME) and Global Technical Strategy for Malaria. Eliminating malaria in India will result in substantial public health improvement in the country, and would also lead to important improvements in the economic situation for families burdened by malaria.

Godrej Anti Malaria Radio campaign is 3 states of India for 65,000 people across Madya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Bihar 

I really liked what Neeraj Jain, Country Director, India, PATH said “While India has seen a sharp drop in both incidence and mortality rates, Malaria is still a major public health challenge. Past successes have been achieved through measures to protect against mosquito bites and by quicker diagnosis followed by appropriate drug therapies.

The Government has set a target of 2030 for malaria elimination in India but for this to be a reality, there is a desperate need for multiple stakeholders including government, development partners, academia and private sector, to come together and work in coordination”

Dr. Bitra George, Country Head, India, FHI 360 mentioned that “Godrej and Family Health India are working closely with Department of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Madhya Pradesh to realize the National Strategy for Malaria Elimination in India by 2030. Our project, EMBED, focuses on driving sustainable behavior change among community members to ensure that they are empowered with the right information to take charge of their own protection against malaria. We have worked on building long-lasting relationships with the local and state governments of MP, local NGOs, ASHA workers, the health system, and the local community, to employ a collaborative approach in our effort to eliminate malaria in MP.”

Being a part of such great conclave where I really got to know it’s also in common man hands too to help this great initiative to make our country MALARIA free for yourself and for coming generation.