Billionaire Harsh Mariwala, has committed ‘unlimited’ funds to mental health-related initiatives in India.
Mr. Mariwala, whose net worth is estimated at $2.2 billion as per Forbes, is willing to fund organisations and start-ups working in the area of mental health to scale up the initiative. In the last two years, he had donated ₹2 crore each year and so far, he had partnered four organisations working in the area.
Mariwala Health Initiative (MHI), founded by him and run by his daughter Rajvi Mariwala, a practising canine behaviourist and trainer, funded the four initiatives and discussions were on to on-board more partners. “My role in MHI is more as a funder,” said Mr. Mariwala. “I meet and interact with partners periodically and help in trying to identify how we can partner with organisations who are involved in the area of mental health, help improve their performance and scale to the next level,” said Harsh Mariwala who is also the chairman of MHI and Marico Ltd.
“We see our involvement with our partners beyond just donation,” he said. “We actually put ourselves into their shoes to see how we can help them. We chart out areas wherein we feel we can help our partners through our networks,” he added.
Fund allocation
On fund allocation for the initiative, Mr. Mariwala said, “We don’t have anything in mind. If we are able to find the right partner and the right opportunities then we will not hesitate in terms of funding. The team is working on and is evaluating these,” he said. “I am open to spending. It will definitely increase substantially over a period of time,” he added.
MHI started its funding initiative with iCall, which provides physiological counselling, in 2015. It subsequently funded Bapu Trust, Atmiyata and Anjali. “In the coming times, we may grow to eight [organisations]. But here, we are clear our role will be catalytic in terms of funding, in terms of connecting people, giving value addition to them. So, it’s a little more comprehensive than just giving money, it’s about giving thought and giving time,” he added.
Successful pilots
Rajvi Mariwala, director, MHI said they were examining projects that have been successful at pilot stage and have had some innovation.
The journey of MHI started in 2014, when Mr Mariwala felt that after having reached his business goals, he would give something back to society.
Over the next 10 years, MHI plans to create a mental health ecosystem in India to change the tone of conversations around mental healthcare and of course, to effectively influence law and policy as well.
India has one of the highest rate of suicides in the world. According to some estimates, 1 in 3 persons, at some stage in their life, suffer from mental illness.
Mental health encompasses ‘everyday well-being, coping and functioning to common and severe mental illness. Mental disorders affect people of all backgrounds, lifestyles, and identities, and can be particularly damaging to people of marginalised groups.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, “a mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others, and daily functioning.”
The National Mental Health Survey 2016 shows almost 150 million Indians are in need of active mental health interventions, including 9.8 million young Indians aged between 13-17 years.
Common mental disorders (CMDs), including depression, anxiety and substance use disorders, are a huge burden, affecting almost 10% of the population. Almost, 1% of the population reported high suicidal risk and almost 1.9% of the surveyed population was affected with severe mental disorders during their lifetime.
