Tata Trusts and The Global Fund launch ‘The India Health Fund’

India Health Fund to address diseases like tuberculosis and malaria in its first phase

Tata Trusts, in association with The Global Fund, have launched ‘The India Health Fund (IHF)’, in Mumbai. The launch, hosted by Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, witnessed the presence of noted corporate leaders and philanthropists across the globe. The India Health Fund is a pioneering vehicle by Tata Trusts, designed to not only influence philanthropic capital within India, but also serve as a trusted mechanism to generate significant impact in addressing key health challenges in the country – starting with malaria and tuberculosis (TB).

The IHF looks at catalysing agility and innovation within large scaled programmes of The Global Fund and the Government of India. Addressing infectious diseases like TB and malaria, the India Health Fund plans to support programmes and projects that develop new products or strategies for innovative business models and innovative partnerships or financing mechanisms that significantly scale existing effective solutions. The investments made by the IHF will be aligned to national strategies and link to clear pathways of scale including government platforms, private health networks, open source technology or sustainable organisation growth.

The initiative was acknowledged as a landmark step in the control of dreaded diseases such as TB and malaria, by all dignitaries at the event. Giving a thumbs-up to the IHF, the dignitaries present stated that they look forward to being a significant part of the initiatives to eradicate TB and malaria. Speaking on the real role of philanthropy, guests reflected on how public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be streamlined to bring out tangible outcomes. They suggested that factors such as fuelling innovation, adequate risk capital, scaling pilots and unleashing the power of technology, will help to garner effective outcomes. The discussion laid strong emphasis on amplifying the impact of the government’s initiatives for eradicating TB and malaria through the India Health Fund.

Tata said, “The India Health Fund is an ambitious project undertaken by Tata Trusts along with The Global Fund and the Government of India. Infectious diseases such as malaria and TB though widespread are treatable and controllable. In order to overcome the challenges associated with this issue, we should use innovations to create models that are not geographically bound and can be replicated anywhere in the world. The India Health Fund will endeavour to combine innovation and effort for the implementation of the project at a large scale.”

Applauding the launch of IHF, US Ambassador to India, Richard R Verma said, “The development challenges we face today truly require ‘all hands on deck’ and it’s more critical than ever that we combine all of our resources and work hand-in-hand to prevent, treat and care for these diseases. That is why the US, through USAID, plans to join the India Health Fund.”

“We commend Tata Trusts for launching and hosting the truly innovative India Health Fund. We are sure it will become a model for many countries around the world providing additional vital resources for health,” said Dr Christoph Benn, Director of External Relations from the Global Fund. “We are proud to partner with Tata Trusts in the development of the India Health Fund. This great initiative will provide new opportunities for philanthropy to improve the lives of millions of people in India and beyond.”

EH News Bureau