 Dr. K S Sanjivi Awards
 The Confederation of Indian Organisations for Service & Advocacy (CIOSA) and Udhavum Ullangal Public Charitable Trust joined hands to honour five doctors and two medical institutions with the 'Dr K S Sanjivi Award' at a function in Chennai to commemorate World Doctors Day.
The awards were presented by Governor Surjit Singh Barnala and Dr M K Srinivasan, chairman and president, Public Health Centre, at the Raj Bhavan on July 8, 2006.
The award was instituted in 2004 in the name of Dr K S Sanjivi, founder of Voluntary Health Services, Taramani, who is considered the pioneer of community healthcare services in Chennai and a visionary on the very concept of community health. The award recognises and honours doctors and institutions which exemplify Dr Sanjivi's ideal of dedication to the practice of medicine as a human service vocation and have a track record of non-commercial services to the poor and the needy without compromising on professional excellence.
The nominations were provided by a network of 134 NGOs under the CIOSA banner. A committee comprising the trustees of CIOSA and Udhavum Ullangal selected this year's awardees with inputs from Dr N S Murali from VHS.
The award includes a laser-etched trophy with the figure of Dr Sanjivi, a citation detailing the awardees' services, a book by Dr Sanjivi on community health and a book on Dr Sanjivi specially donated by his daughter to the awardees. The final list of honours is shared by five doctors and two institutions.
DOCTORS
1. Dr V Pugazhendi, M.B.B.S, a general physician who provides the best of holistic healthcare to the poor and needy at an affordable cost of Rs 3 in and around villages of Kalpakkam. He trains the local youth on primary healthcare through his organisation Makkal Nala Vazhvu
Pani.
2. Dr K Muralidharan, M.B.B.S, diabetologist; conducts free medical screening and scans for the poor, organises a number of health awareness programmes on various diseases for the general public, free vaccination camps to prevent diseases and their complications and free health education programmes for school and college students.
3. Dr M S Chandragupta, B.D.S., has conducted more than 266 dental health programmes in schools for the blind, deaf and dumb and for the mentally and physically challenged in colleges, orphanages, homes and corporates; also creates awareness on oral hygiene in rural areas.
4. Dr S Balambal, M.B.B.S, has served as a medical officer in many institutions. She revived the concept of family doctor whereby all the members of a family are treated, counselled and provided health education and house visits are undertaken.
5. Dr M Krishnakanth, M.B.B.S, M.D, is in charge of the Leprosy Mobile Clinic, and takes care of seven leprosy colonies and two balwadis. He has oraganised and participated in more than 20 community outreach programmes. He is also involved in rehabilitation of leprosy infected patients by forming Self Help Groups.
INSTITUTIONS:
1. Govt Hospital of Thoracic Medicine, Tambaram Sanatorium: Govt Hospital of Thoracic Medicine is the largest AIDS care centre in India with around 300 HIV patients visiting the OP and 300 in-patients with separate wards for men, women and children. The hospital instituted free ART drugs for HIV patients from April 2004 and is equipped to deal with every type of HIV disease.
2. Aravind Sai Eye Hospital provides quality eyecare to the poor and needy. Dr Lakshmanan, the founder of Aravind Sai Eye Hospital, has envisaged a cataract-free India by 2020 and has performed more than 12,000 IOL surgeries, 70,000 refractions and examined 1.5 lakh out-patients in order to achieve this goal.
CIOSA is a facilitative platform that brings NGOs, corporate houses and individuals with social concern together for mutual learning, sharing and the collective espousal of social issues. For more details on CIOSA, visit
www.ciosa.org.in
or write to prasanna@ciosa.org.in
Udhavum Ullangal Public Charitable Trust has been set up with the purpose of making a difference in the lives of deprived people. Health care support programmes for AIDS and cancer patients in city hospitals and educational support for those who cannot afford it are among the primary activities of the trust.
R Rangaraj
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