About one third of India’s population lacks access to adequate sanitation. And inadequate sanitation is more than just inconvenient – it claims lives, dignity and productivity, affecting female gender mentally. These insights have led Max Medical Foundation to consciously focus on Sanitation.
Max Medical Foundation believes in the philosophy of safe and sustainable sanitation for all. The three phases of safe and sustainable sanitation are Build, Use, Maintain.
The key step in the sanitation movement is building enough toilets for it to be convenient for everyone. It is the most practical way of discouraging open defecation. Approximately half of the rural population is estimated to have no proper access to sanitation, which leads to an alarming number of diseases through faeco oral route. Building well-functioning toilets in the rural areas is a quintessential step towards a sanitary country.
Introducing a new concept always takes some getting used to. Just building toilets is surely a huge leap; however, it is equally crucial to initiate them to the idea of using the toilet. There should be a unit which can answer any queries and address any confusion regarding the usage of the lavatory. Showcasing how to use it properly is mandatory, as very few people will openly come in, wanting to know how to use a toilet, and avoid using it instead. Proper knowledge and instructions will warm them towards the idea of using the toilet eventually.
Keeping the toilets in a clean condition is a daily practice to avoid communicable diseases and continuous functioning of the facility. The public using the toilets should be adequately trained to take responsibility for cleaning the place after each usage. Giving them the accountability will encourage them to clean up after themselves and will help them steer away from any extreme cleanliness issue later on. Having maintenance unit will also render greater benefit the toilet user and the facility use perennially.
More than 76 million people in India lack access to safe drinking water. Diseases caused by unsafe drinking water and inadequate sanitation remain India’s most serious public health threat, causing 80% of the sicknesses and annually killing between 2 and 5 million people, mainly young children. Lack of water undermines the sustainability of other critical needs, including education, economic development, nutrition, environmental health and gender equality.
Max Medical Foundation’s aim is to gain deeper insight Into issues of water quality. Some of the specific problems that our interventions seek to tackle include arsenic, fluoride, bacteriological contamination, iron and salinity. We create low cost, effective, locally relevant water purification systems which provide safe drinking water for communities. Projects that promote the long term adoption of sanitation and hygiene, both of which directly affect water quality as well as building capacity on water testing are also supported by MMF.
Max Medical Foundation is now seeking to work on the governance aspects of water quality to ensure linkages between health and water quality departments, keeping in mind these principles MMF is focusing is focusing on the following interventions, while approaching water quality issues.
There are five key principles that we see while selecting interventions. Subsidary, equity, last mile reach, affordable technology and community partnership.
Nationally Determined Contributions towards the Paris Agreement has made the transition to clean energy systems by the nation. Our organization mainly aims on developing initiatives that helps underserved people in India an access to clean energy, increase the supply and integration of renewable energy into the grid, and promote energy efficiency and address the energy gap.
We aim to achieve this by bettering the quality of life of marginalized communities by providing clean cooking, lighting and livelihood solutions.
Despite the rapid developments in clean energy solutions, 239 million people in India still live without access to any form of electricity. MMF develops and organizes initiatives that use sustainable energy as a catalyst for socio-economic development of rural communities in a gender-inclusive manner. Innovations, developing technological solutions and knowledge generation / awareness campaigns serves to be the pillars of our action plan to achieve the organization’s goals.
Energy efficiency is a key driving force in meeting environmental and climate goals.
MMF Energy Team aims to achieve efficiency by using the following methods: