As a part of its nationwide CSR initiative, TECH4ALL, Huawei India is bringing its international commitment towards primary healthcare and digital education to the underserved areas of the Indian sub-continent. Towards this, Huawei India flagged-off two Mobile Medical Units in collaboration with Wockhardt Foundation. The event also witnessed a fully equipped digital education centre inside a bus – Digibus, being showcased that would be utilized to provide education to people residing in remote locations with limited access. The partners of the Digi bus initiative are aligned to the Prime Minister’s Antyodaya program, striving to spread digital literacy across rural parts of the country.
The flag-off event was attended by Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Union Minister of State for Finance, Government of India along with Dr. Huzaifa Khorakiwala, CEO – Wockhardt Foundation, Ms. Charu Kapoor, COO, NIIT Foundation and Mr. Harsh Khurana, Chief – Regulatory, Corporate Affairs & Communications Department, Huawei India. The overall initiative is slated to benefit approximately 3,25,000 patients through the 13 mobile medical units and 1,50,000 students through the 4 Digi buses over the contract period. The vehicles will be plying in smaller towns and localities of Delhi-NCR region, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.
On occasion of the flag-off, Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad, Union Minister of State for Finance, Government of India said, “Healthcare and education are strong pillars of our society which should be continuously strengthened in order to build a robust Digital India. In a country as diverse and as large as ours, the need is for a participatory approach in which all of us, from Government to corporate sector to civil society, work together towards a common goal. I firmly believe that our collective efforts will help us in developing more avenues that will help the people from underprivileged sections access opportunities, to bring them at a level playing field with the rest of the society.”
The Wockhardt-Huawei Mobile Medical Clinics will be operated by a team comprising 1 doctor, 1 pharmacist, and 1 driver, and will be conducting free OPD/ health screening sessions for local residents of the areas that it will be playing on. To maintain regular track of the vehicle, the van is equipped with a GPS system, enabling the administrators to monitor the progress of the van on a regular basis.
The NIIT Foundation-Huawei 5G enabled Digi buses are equipped with 20 desktops and 30 mobile phones each, indoor and outdoor digital screens, and a 5G enabled network for remote teacher/presenter interaction. The vehicles will provide digital awareness, education, and skills to youth, women and the underprivileged in remote and rural areas of the country. The Digi bus employs cutting edge technologies such as 5G Communications, Immersive & Virtual Collaboration, Content Management, Security and Edge AI to provide uninterrupted world-class education facilities for rural communities. The vehicles are powered with all the latest amenities and catalogues for e-learning and remote classrooms, enabling it to function as a temporary digital school to offer various courses like Financial Literacy, Basic IT, Digital Literacy, STEM, Video based Education etc. by a local supervisor to oversee and guide students.
Akash Mathur, Vice President at Huawei Technologies India said, “In line with Huawei’s focus on connecting people to make the world a better place, a long-term vision is needed. We believe that good health and education are rights of every citizen, irrespective of their geography, and through these initiatives flagged off today, we aim to provide towards that need. Penetration of digital access for important services remains a problem in India, due to challenges of cost, internet availability and lack of knowledge. While efforts are being put towards building the last mile digital connection across the country, we believe initiatives such as ours, are useful supplements to get the ground ready for future development.”
Huawei has also been partnering with multiple NGOs over the years to launch initiatives for social and community welfare. Initiatives such as facilitating schools with sanitation and digital facilities, funding research projects of leading institutes, supporting Covid relief, and donating to disaster relief funds have been some of the key highlights. In addition to these, Huawei under its CSR programs in India has funded the construction of sanitation facilities in 94 schools, financed mid-day meals for more than 55,000 students across 50+govt and affiliated schools, and built digital/ smart classrooms in 101 schools, benefiting nearly 40,000 students across Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh. Huawei has also partnered with CSR foundations of industry stakeholders to support their initiatives around setting up a healthcare academy, providing IoT solutions for agriculture for farmers in Maharashtra and MP, and setting up Center of Excellence in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
