Aimed to promote reproductive health and maternal and child health in the country, Hindustan Latex Family Planning Promotion Trust (HLFPPT), an initiative of public sector HLL Lifecare Ltd, will distribute 1.2 billion pieces of condoms in six States during the next three years.
HLFPPT, which completed 21 years of existence in March this year, will target the rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha for scaling up the distribution of condoms under its social marketing initiatives.
“Our aim is to make condoms accessible to anyone at the right time. Accessibility at the right time is the key as it is an impulsive buy. The time to access a condom has come down from 30 minutes to 19 minutes and we hope that it can be brought down ideally below 10 minutes in a couple of years,” said HLFPPT chairman Dr. M Ayyappan, who is also the chairman and managing director of HLL Lifecare Ltd.
“HLFPPT, along with its partner organisations, has already distributed 1.8 billion pieces of condom and we are going to scale up our activities to ensure a better accessibility and availability of condoms,” HLFPPT CEO Sharad Agarwal said.
Another important programme is to expand the highly successful ‘Merrygold Health Network’, a social franchising programme involving the private sector. As many as 70 hospitals have become part of this network in 35 districts of Uttar Pradesh, where 90 per cent of people depend on the private sector. The Uttar Pradesh government has accredited Merrygold Hospitals for the Janani Suraksha Yojana and Sowbhagyavati Schemes to provide free-of-cost reproductive and child health (RCH) services and emergency obstetric care services.
“This PPP model can be replicated across the country. We have already launched this initiative in Rajasthan. Now we will expand this programme to all 70 districts of U.P. in the next two years, besides launching it in Bihar and Odisha,” said Mr. Agarwal.
Set up in 1992, HLFPPT is supporting implementation of Reproductive Child Health (RCH) and HIV prevention and care programmes across 11 States. It has established partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW), the governments of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh and north-eastern states for implementing intensive programmes that reach millions of women and families.
Besides, HLFPPT programmes are supported by its partners such as Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Department for International Development, National AIDS Control Organisation, Family Health International 360, UNICEF, CAIRN Energy, Deloitte Consulting, Merck for Mothers, Agency for International Development, OXFAM, Norway India Partnership Initiative.
