NON-FCRA PROJECT: SIR DORABJI TATA TRUST FUNDS FOR HEALTH PROJECTS

Deadline: round the year

The Trusts have also been supporting thematic work, particularly in the field of reproductive and child health, community-based care and the rehabilitation of people with disabilities, and activities that focus on the treatment of non-communicable diseases. Additionally, the Trusts contribute to reputed institutions working on Indian systems of medicine.         

1.8 million children (under the age of five years) and 68,000 mothers die every year; while another 52 million children are stunted. India’s burden of reproductive health, and child health and nutrition is greater than any other country in the world. The pace of development is slow and falls short of the national and Millennium Development Goal targets. Chronic diseases (such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, mental illnesses) and injuries are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in India. In the next 25 years, these factors are projected to significantly increase the burden of disease.

Overall, socioeconomic progress and an increasing use of vaccines and antimicrobials in the last 60 years have lowered the occurrence of infectious diseases. Yet, they still make up about 30 per cent of the disease burden in India. While the problem of HIV and leprosy has been successfully controlled, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria are still a concern. Adding to the situation, is a severe shortage of healthcare professionals in India. The reasons for this are: concentration of the workforce in urban areas; and limitations in planning, financing, infrastructure, supply systems, the skills of healthcare providers, governance and monitoring.

Besides being aligned with the specific needs of the country, the thematic areas of the Health portfolio also focus on innovations that are easy to replicate on a large scale.

The four sub-thematic areas of engagement are:

1. Community-based Health Interventions

2. Non Communicable Diseases with a focus on cancer

3. Violence against Women as a public health issue

4. Disability

The Trusts have predominantly partnered with organisations in northern and western India. Alliances in the central, east, North East belts are being forged as part of the overall focus on regions with low development indices.