PHFI and AquaKraft to focus on Covid-19 response, drinking water and sanitation

In an endeavour to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and augment India’s efforts for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the Public Health Foundation of India and AquaKraft Projects Private Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch an Integrated Public Health Initiative, Araike Life. This initiative will work in the areas of Sustainable Development Goals, clean water and sanitation, with a focus on ‘Covid-19 Response Innovation’.

The objective of Araike Life— where ‘Araike’ means care and ‘Life’ means laying india’s foundation for empowerment— is to cu-rate an integrated Public Health Programme in response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This will be a composite of infrastructure and capacity building at different levels, from rural to urban areas. This partnership aims to leverage the strong domain knowledge & expertise of PHFI along with the extensive on ground experience of AquaKraft in implementing complex drinking water and sani-tation programs across rural India.

Highlighting the importance of augmenting health systems, Prof. K. Srinath Reddy, President, PHFI said, “Sustainable develop-ment is critical to India’s growth for ensuring the well -being of its people along with economic progress. The ongoing covid-19 pandemic has put considerable stress on India’s limited healthcare infrastructure and resources. Sustainable infrastructure forms the bedrock of the capacity to meet the ongoing challenges and any unforeseen emergencies. Therefore, scaling up of existing health care facilities and augmenting health care infrastructure is essential not only to fight the ongoing pandemic but also to pre-vent any future public health emergencies.

“PHFI, which represents a Partnership for Public Purpose, in collaboration with AquaKraft, will engage and liaise with State and Central Governments, and assist in building a bridge between the district admin-istration and communities by identifying and filling the demand and supply gaps in much needed healthcare infrastructure.”