According to an official release on April 28, Gurugram based DLF Foundation – the philanthropic arm of DLF Ltd – has partnered with the Directorate of NVBDCP, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, and Synergie to make Gurugram free of Vector Borne Diseases such as Dengue, Chikunguniya and Malaria. The initiative will be driven through a Task Force comprising of corporates, hospitals, RWAs, industry associations and the government. This is part of DLF’s Gurgaon rejuvenation plan under which the company intends to work at the grass root level and achieve the goal of Vector Borne Disease free Gurugram.

DLF Foundation has already formed a National Core Group for Control of Vector Borne Diseases aiming to effectively involve a large number of companies in addressing the issue of vector borne diseases through CSR and workplace interventions across the country.

The National Core Group is chaired by Dr. AC Dhariwal, director, NVBDCP, and has representation from Municipal Corporations, Directorate of Health Services, companies including Dalmia Bharat Group, Aditya Birla Group, Jubilant Life Sciences, Ambuja Cement Foundation, Sun Pharma, NBCC, NTPC, Microsoft, and industry bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry and the UN Global Compact Network of India.

Welcoming this partnership, Dr. Dhariwal said, “The private sector could play an important role in awareness generation and preventive action for control of vector borne diseases. He urged all the stakeholders to identify intervention strategies that are appropriate for their respective areas of operation and offered to provide the necessary technical support to enable them to do so.”

Speaking at an event organised by NVBDCP on April 25 on the occasion of World Malaria Day, Colonel Prakash Tewari, advisor, CSR and Education, DLF Ltd said, “Vector borne diseases had been major contributors to increasing levels of morbidity especially during breeding season, something which can be controlled.

“To truly achieve our goal of wellness, it was essential that source of such diseases are targeted and preventive measures are taken. Through this partnership we are taking our efforts forward towards the same with the help of the expertise NVBDCP is bringing on the table.”