Hindustan Latex Limited – CSR Activities
Hindustan Latex Limited, a public sector company established more than three decades ago, came to occupy a premier position in the country�s family planning and health care programs. The company not only established itself as the leader in the segment of manufacture of contraceptives, but also diversified into manufacturing and marketing of other related health care products . Social marketing became one of the key areas of the company to ensure that quality contraceptives are available to the people at an affordable price at an �arms length of desire�.
Though the direct marketing operations of the company were doing very well, over the years, the company realized that its social obligation being paramount, the company could not look at profitability alone, which was however being sustained through its exports and direct marketing. The company realized the need for family planning and healthcare programs aimed at the poor and disadvantaged sections of the society. Hindustan Latex Limited thus ventured into social sector projects aimed at creating a planned social change. It was with this objective that HLL formed the Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust, a non-profit organization promoted by HLL.
Since its establishment in 1992, HLFPPT has been undertaking the conceptualization and implementation of various Social Sector Projects. The Trust�s area of operations extends to the various states of India. Although the Trust was established for promoting the agenda of family planning, the Trust�s activities have now been broad based to focus on reproductive and sexual health. The Trust is expected to develop into a major civil society participant working in the health sector, in partnership with a range of development actors.
Why we are
The Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust was established in 1992 under the Registration of Societies 12th Act of 1955 Travancore – Cochi Literary Scientific, Charitable Societies Registration Act. The trust develops and implements programs to encourage healthy behavior and to increase the availability of health products and services at prices low-income people can afford.
The objectives of the Trust are the following
To conduct research studies in demography and other areas affecting the health and welfare of people, especially in rural areas.
To assist voluntary organizations for mass communication, public relations etc. in the area of health and family planning .
To establish research centers and other institutions to conduct study classes, research studies in a scientific manner in the area of Family Planning Programme, Contraceptives and all types of prophylactics and other health care products.
To establish hospitals, family planning clinics, health centers for popularization of family planning.
To involve people and voluntary organizations in implementation of various family planning schemes and health programmes in rural and backward areas.
To raise funds in furtherance of the objectives of the trust from the public and/or financial institutions or such terms and conditions as may be agreed by the board of trustees.
The Trust is working on the following major areas
Social marketing of health care products and social franchising of reproductive health services.
Sexual health awareness and HIV/AIDS prevention and control.
Technical assistance and consultancy on reproductive health issues
Competency of HLFPPT
The social project planning and implementation, brand building programmes, project consultancy, distribution & logistics management, local media implementation and networking programmes & linkage development with NGOs are major activities of HLFPPT. HLFPPT is currently implementing sexual and reproductive health projects, HIV/AIDS targeted interventions, and IEC projects funded by national and international development agencies like DFID, USAID, SIFPSA, European commission and Govt. of India. The interventions are directed at creating planned and sustained behavioral change for having small and healthy families, healthy and safe sexual and reproductive health etc.
Social Project Management Division
Projects implemented by HLFPPT
HLFPPT has gained diverse experience in implementing health sector projects.
A brief description of some of the projects managed by HLL is given below :
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) Consultancy Project
Condom Access Building Programme under AIDS Prevention and Control Project (APAC)
Partnerships for Sexual Health Project (PSH) in Andhra Pradesh
Regional Management Unit for Truckers Project
Chota Sansar Project, Uttar Pradesh
Behavior Change Strategies Project
AIDS Awareness Campaign in Kerala
Operations Research
Condom Promotion Strategies for the states of Kerala and AP
Sukhi Sansar Project- Contraceptive Social Marketing in Uttar Pradesh
Projects contracted to HLL and managed by HLFPPT
The TSG for the AVERT project, Maharashtra
The AVERT society has been set up in Mumbai under a bilateral agreement between India and the United States. Avert Project is a 41.2 million dollar programme for prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in the state of Maharashtra. The Society would fund sub grantees and implement wide ranging programmes that address the basic risk factors such as lack of awareness, unsafe sexual behaviour, poverty, marginalization etc that make people vulnerable to HIV/AIDS.
The Society has entered into a management agreement with HLFPPT under which HLFPPT has set up a technical support group (TSG). The TSG provides the services of a team of professionals for assisting in sub grantee selection, sub grantee management etc and providing technical assistance for effective functioning of the programme. TSG also conducts the financial and management audit of the AVERT society. TSG is also actively engaged in strategic planning for the Avert project.
Swastha Gram Pariyojana, Madhya Pradesh – Community based social marketing
This project has been implemented by HLFPPT for MOHFW, govt. of India and involves community based social marketing of CSM brands of contraceptives, ORS and sanitary napkins in nearly 2950 villages of Gwalior, Bhind, Morena, Datia and Shivpuri districts of Madhya Pradesh. The funding from the GOI for a period of three years is Rs. 2.70 crores. The project was designed to address the three major barriers in promotion of spacing methods in rural areas viz., lack of access, affordability and lack of motivation. The development objectives of the project include :
Distribution of social marketing brands of contraceptives through unemployed, educated and mobile rural youth, supported by a comprehensive local media based IEC programme, thereby contributing to the reduction of Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in the rural areas and
Advancement of family health through the promotion of sanitary napkins and oral rehydration salts (ORS).
The design of this innovative project called for integration of locally available human resources, local- media based IEC promotion (mainly non-conventional media) and developing non-conventional distribution mechanisms to deliver the goods and services under the project. The mid term evaluation of the above project by the International Institute for Population Sciences has been very encouraging. The report has highlighted many strengths of the project especially management information system and comprehensive IEC implementation through use of local media. It demonstrates that in the project area, the use of condoms has gone up by 34 % and that of oral contraceptive pills by 18%.
Community based distribution of Contraceptives project – Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa
Encouraged by the overwhelming response to the pilot social marketing initiative in Madhya Pradesh and subsequent to the recommendation of IIPS, Mumbai, MOHFW, Govt. of India urged HLFPPT to undertake similar initiative in select districts of socio-economically backward states of Bihar, Orissa and Jharkhand.
In response to the same, HLFPPT submitted a proposal for implementing a community based contraceptive social marketing programme in select districts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa. The Project was subsequently approved by MOHFW, Govt. of India.
The community based social marketing programme is implemented in close co-ordination with the existing health service delivery systems. The Aanganwadi workers of the ICDS programme form an important link in the programme by facilitating as service providers at the last village level.
The objective of the programme is to promote the usage of spacing methods, right age at marriage and male responsibility for family welfare among the eligible couples in rural areas and to establish a distribution network of community workers for ensuring reach of quality product and service delivery at the household level in the villages of the project districts. It also aims to promote and distribute Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) among children to prevent diarrheal disorders and Sanitary Napkins to address reproductive hygiene amongst women. The entire programme focuses on five main components:
Information Education and Communication.
Product Distribution through a network of community service providers.
Brand Promotion.
Advocacy with village based institutions, community representatives, Govt. agencies etc
Convergence with existing Health service delivery channels.
Sukha Parivaram – Social marketing programme for Andhra Pradesh
Sukha Parivaram is a social marketing programme for the state of Andhra Pradesh and will make available a basket of social marketing goods such as condoms, oral contraceptive pills, iron and folic acid tablets (for pregnant women) and ORS. The project is being implemented by HLFPPT in collaboration with the MOHFW and the government of Andhra Pradesh. The project is for a duration of three years starting from October 2000. The funding is for a sum of more than Rs 448 lakhs from the European commission.
The Project objectives are to reduce the total fertility rate in Andhra Pradesh, child mortality due to diarrhoea by promotion of ORT, reduce the incidence of nutritional anemia and reduce the incidence of STDs such as AIDS through promotion of condom use. The strategies followed are enhancing access to contraceptives, product planning through consumer research, linkages with community based distribution networks of NGOs, cooperatives, SHGs and women�s groups and linkages with government departments such as DRDA, Panchayats etc.
Plans are also afoot to provide social marketing of IUDs. The proposal seeks to expand the market for IUD, enhance capability of graduate medical practitioners to provide family planning services like IUD insertion and enhance the capabilities of non- medical healthcare providers to provide counseling and referral services for IUDs.
Western – U.P Project
It is a rural marketing project wherein it involves enhancing access through conventional trade channels by developing a community based social marketing channel and expanding basket of goods in social marketing all this would be facilitated by effective BCC. The time period of the project implementation is 3 years (2003-2006).
The main objectives of the Western UP project are to :
Increase the number of villages having access to subsidized and fully priced contraceptives (condoms and pills) and other health care products like ORS (WHO formula), IFA tablets and DDKs.
Increase the number of outlets selling condoms, pills and RCH products.
Project strategies:
Enhancing access through conventional trade channels
Developing a community based social marketing channel
Expanding basket of goods in social marketing
Implementing behaviour change communication in rural areas
Building internal and partner capacities for rural marketing in Western UP
The project will be responsible to ensure penetration of OCPs, condoms and any one RCH product to all A and B category villages i.e. 607 villages along with 2000 C and D category villages.
Mobile Health Clinic Project
The rural areas within our country are very vast in terms of geographical size. This large size combined with poorly developed infrastructure base indeed pose great difficulty in physical distribution of health care services and other methods of contraception with economic viability. This further adds to the reduced availability and commensurate reduction in the usage levels. Such a problem can be surmounted only by a concentrated village based mobile medical van promotion and distribution programme aimed at making modern methods of health care available �at the arms length of desire�.
This makes it imperative to use an innovative approach like the mobile health clinic approach, which can ensure that the health services are able to reach the remote, inaccessible and underserved areas. In combination with reduced education levels this innovative approach will help to take the health infrastructure at the nearest village of the rural populace specially in those villages which are currently not served by any PHC and private clinics. This proposal is developed to operationalize a mobile Primary Health Care Model in the van and linking it to the network of static referral centers at district / town level.
To know more on CSR of this company :
www.hindlatex.com/adminright.aspx?id=26&par_id=26 or www.hlfppt.org
Contact details :
Dy. General Manager (PR)
Hindustan Latex Ltd.
Latex Bhavan
Poojappura
Thiruvananthapuram – 695 012
Ph : 0471 2354949, 0471 2350968
e-mail : jayaraj@hindlatex.com
Web Address : www.hindlatex.com