Media Release
Mangaluru, Sep 15: Center for Health & Development (CHD Group), a public health organization headquartered at Mangaluru was recently granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council at the United Nations Headquarters. The Indian origin CHD Group will now be entitled to benefits as per ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31 under the United Nations.
CHD Group was founded by Dr Edmond Fernandes, a community health physician on June 27, 2014. It has been ever since maintained the organization headquarters at Mangaluru and has chosen not to move to metro cities but to build a tier II city like Mangaluru thus contributing to the economy, employment opportunities and sustainable growth and also support the people by creating employment, uplifting them through healthcare and building skills among the youth and getting them industry prepared for courses like Home Nursing and Public Health Assistants with Hospital Training.
CHD Group has worked in 11 states of India – Karnataka, Bihar, Kerala, Gujarat, Odisha, Telangana, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and covered over 6875 villages with an impact of over 1 + million lives within a span of 7 years.
CHD Group has also this year started the Edward & Cynthia Institute of Public Health (ECIPH) at Mangaluru which is a unit of CHD Group catering to advance public health skills for students. Itisoffering a Masters in Public Health (MPH) programme which is a full-time 2-year degree programme with international collaborations and placements across India, Asia, Africa and other parts of the globe.
CHD Group over 7 years has partnered with multiple government departments like National Health Mission, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, ONGC-MRPL, NABARD; United Nations agencies like UNICEF;Multi-National Companies like Corteva agriscience, KANTAR, Crypto Relief, Appsflyer and many others in shaping the scenario of public health in India. They have pioneered a unique low cost but efficient model of social health that enables achieving multiple parameters with same investments towards community development. The model focuses on curative care, preventive care, counselling services, skill development and entitlements for sustainable futures.
CHD Group has worked in the space of primary healthcare, COVID-19 out-reach and MissionICU response, disaster management, women’s health and child nutrition, non-communicable diseases, mental health and skilling focused on women empowerment, besides working on climate change and climate action issues around cascading risks and why the world needs to adopt new algorithms for risk informed planning and to address public health consequences due to such outcomes.
CHD Group is an implementing partner to various programmes of the Government of India and State Governments and also implements Corporate Social Responsibility programmes for India Inc. In 2020, they bagged the ASSOCHAM NGO award for their speedy work in COVID-19 across the country in the middle of a national lockdown. At the UN Headquarters, CHD Group was represented by their US Representative, Dr Sloka Iyengar.
The Governing Board at CHD Group has extended their whole hearted thanks to the Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, Ministry of External Affairs & Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. On a special note, CHD Group has also thanked all member countries at the United Nations for their support and co-operation.