Surgery Support

Ekam Foundation Mumbai is an NGO for child education registered and medical support that works for the well-being of every child irrespective of economic status, race, and religious background with the main verticals being health and education.

Under the flagship Surgery Support Programme, Ekam Foundation Mumbai, with its wide outreach programme, has been successfully able to reach out to children from the underprivileged section of the society in need of tertiary healthcare, and arrange for quick, effective and valuable treatment on time. Hence, the support to beneficiary families is not just limited to financial assistance but also includes a quick turnaround and timely intervention as a last mile funder. The objective of the programme is to arrange subsidised elective surgeries for a variety of medical conditions to ensure positive health outcomes, such as congenital heart diseases, orthopaedic problems, eye and ear ailments and for heart and liver transplants through a network of both public and private hospitals.

Ekam Foundation Mumbai has propagated its helpline number to key stakeholders like Community Development Officers, Doctors, Health Workers, Medical Officers, Anganwadi-Sevika and School Teachers. Upon identifying children needing hospitalisation and surgery support from underprivileged backgrounds, they get referred to the Ekam helpline, which acts as a guidance and counselling centre. Ekam Foundation Mumbai runs due diligence to verify the economic background of the family and medical history of the child and prescribed line of treatment and cost.

Need For The Programme

The National Health Profile (2017) published by the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence states that about a quarter of all rural households and one in five urban families in India are forced into debt or the sale of assets to meet hospitalisation costs. There is a wide gap between the demand and supply of secondary and tertiary Public Healthcare. Consequently, families sometimes have to forgo essential treatment that can restore the quality of a child’s life. Each year India loses more than 1 million babies under the age of 1 year. Greater than 95% of these deaths can be prevented with access to good healthcare. It is therefore imperative to provide the poor with access to quality healthcare. Pew Research Centre, using World Bank data, has estimated that the poor population in India has more than doubled to 134 million from 60 million in just a year due to the pandemic-induced recession.

Objectives

The Surgery Support Programme seeks to bring together children from disadvantaged sections of society and public and private healthcare providers in order to provide the children with affordable, timely and quality healthcare. Our vision is to contribute to the health, education and well-being of children to enable them to achieve their full potential.

Our Goal

To save a child’s life by timely medical intervention.

For Whom

Infants and children up to 18 years of age from migrant populations and economically weak families that are in need of life-saving surgeries and therapy.

How

By providing financial aid for surgeries and therapies.

Our Target

Quantum of support depends on the nature of illness, cost of the treatment, family economic background and other resources available at disposal. Generally, Ekam Foundation Mumbai partly supports the expenses of the child, however, in exceptional cases, Ekam Foundation Mumbai bears 100% cost of the treatment depending on the need and resources available. For this particular proposal, we are looking to cover approximately 100 children with an average cost of Rs. 50,000/- per child. Ekam Foundation Mumbai proposes to target children aged 0-18 years from disadvantaged populations living in marginalised communities of Navi Mumbai. The Surgery Support Programme has assumed larger importance in the pandemic aftermath due to the financial and economic adversity faced by low-income communities. The pandemic has given us a new need to support more children seeking treatment from far-flung rural and semi-rural regions of India. There is no rental or other administrative cost included in the administrative cost.

The Beneficiary Approval Process

  1. The Patient Welfare Officer mans the 24/7 dedicated helpline, which acts as the guidance and counselling centre for children and their families in need
  2. The Patient Welfare Officer looks into the socio-economic status and the medical history of the applicant
  3. The medical history of the child is communicated to the Medical Director
  4. Parents are requested to contribute in whatever small amount they can; they are also advised to seek partial funding from other NGOs, while Ekam acts as a last-mile funder by making available the remaining amount for the treatment. In rare instances, Ekam Foundation Mumbai may support the entire cost of the treatment depending on the treatment cost and the family’s economic position
  5. The Medical Director and Medical Committee members assess the history of the ailing child, and their socio-economic status to approve Ekam Foundation Mumbai’s financial support
  6. After seeking approval from the National Medical Director, the Patient Welfare Officer hands over an acknowledgement letter to the treating hospital
  7. Post-surgery/treatment, availing one-month credit period, Ekam Foundation Mumbai makes payment to the hospital directly. No payment is made to the beneficiary’s family. The hospital is requested to acknowledge receipt of payments for maintaining the audit trail

Testimonials

Thushara Setty

Thushara Setty

Bangalore

Ekam Surgery support Program

Monisha Vankudothu

Margadarshini

Ekam Surgery support Program

Ritik Amle (SRT)

Badlapur

Ekam Surgery support Program

Since its inception, Ekam Foundation Mumbai has reached over 3500 children, and over 160 hospitals, in 18 states of India in Tier I and II cities to avail timely and quality healthcare both in public and private hospitals. In FY 2021-2022, Ekam Foundation Mumbai supported 576 children across 60 hospitals in these geographical territories.

FAQ'S

Disclaimer:

  • Due diligence and meticulous screening of beneficiaries is our strength and differentiation. Corporate governance and integrity of the donor monies and accountability is the driving value of the organisation. Donations to Ekam Foundation Mumbai are eligible for tax exemption under section 80G of IT act. For more detail please contact us.