For those living in rural areas who are impoverished, access to healthcare is essential. These settlements are home to a large number of elderly people, immigrants, farmers, and migrants. They labor and subsist on their land, and since health insurance is expensive, they are unable to pay it. Additionally, due to their remote location, they lack access to transportation or a means of connecting with bus lines.

Primary Health Centres (PHC), the first point of treatment for communities, serve around 36,000 individuals each PHC. PHCs normally include one medical officer who is a physician, as well as staff nurses Auxiliary Nurses and Midwives (ANM) and other personnel. Inadequate infrastructure and a heavy patient load add to the strain on physicians and nurses. To see a specialist, villagers must drive for around 45 minutes to the nearest district hospital.

Bayer Foundation India (BFI) has built telemedicine facilities at PHCs to bring top healthcare specialists to local communities, right at their doorstep, to solve these challenges.

"We traveled to many districts across the country, such as Raichur, Khandwa, and Tikamgarh, and saw that there was very little support available in PHCs," says Sarita Bahl, nation Group CSR Head, Bayer, South Asia, and Director, Bayer Foundation India.So far, Bayer has set up 28 ‘Phygital’ telemedicine centres in 14 aspirational districts (a programme by the government to improve underdeveloped districts nationwide) across eight states.

Addressing Silent health bombs: 

According to Bayer's examination of data obtained from all PHCs, the majority of patients at the centers suffered noncommunicable illnesses (NCDs) such as hypertension and diabetes.Diabetes and hypertension are on the rise in India, according to a new ICMR-INDIAB research, which estimates the numbers at 101 million and 136 million, respectively. The study also found that hypertension affects more than one-third of Indians, with a high prevalence of prediabetes in rural areas. Diabetes and associated NCDs can lead to cardiovascular complications and other health issues such as kidney, foot, and eye diseases. The report emphasizes the critical importance of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment to reduce fatalities caused by these complications.Working on these tenets is a major part of Bayer’s initiative today. They organize monthly health camps to raise awareness about diabetes, hypertension, various heart conditions, breast cancer, and more.

Marking Up with the Accomplishments: 

Since April 2022, they have organized 539 health camps, visited 6,000 villages, and aided over 1,70,000 individuals throughout Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh, according to Sarita. Over 95,000 general consultations and 74,000 specialty consultations were conducted at these camps. "We want to make certain that no disease goes undetected due to a lack of resources or awareness." "Everyone in the country should have access to high-quality health care," adds Sarita.