Apollo Hospitals Foundation and WWF- India continue their partnership to protect frontline forest staff and local communities

WWF India and Apollo Hospitals Foundation today announced continuation of their year-long partnership to provide medical support to forest department frontline staff and local communities across the conservation landscapes in which WWF-India operates. While frontline staff have to brave difficult terrain, harsh weather conditions, wildlife and poachers in their daily lives, forest-fringe communities are also faced with issues of human-wildlife conflict, and extreme climatic events for which medical assistance is required. This tie-up continues after one year of partnership.

The continuing tie-up, to be effective from April 2017 for a one-year period, will extend immediate medical support to affected frontline staff of forest department and local community members in the states of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The partnership covers quality medical treatment of patients that also includes air ambulance services in critical and emergency conditions. This unique partnership between the two organizations will cover  medical camps and cases including (but not confined to) grievous injury due to attacks by wild animals; fall from elevated areas (like hills or machines); accidents while patrolling in vehicles (collision, falling off etc);  burns during fire-fighting operations; injuries  in crowd control operations during incidents  of  human-wildlife conflict ; medical emergencies during extreme climatic events, life threatening diseases like malaria, dengue etc; venomous bites/stings, and electrocution.

Speaking on the necessity of enhancing the welfare of brave wildlife protectors and community members, Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India said, “This partnership is a key milestone where WWF-India and the Apollo Hospitals have come together to provide specialized medical care to both the frontline forest staff and members of the local community, who form an important part of our work.  Initiatives such as medical treatment and health check-ups will go a long way in ensuring that people have access to medical care.”

Ms. Upasana Kamineni Konidela  Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Foundation said, “We at Apollo Hospitals Foundation understand the perils that these frontline staff face and we are always there to support them in their endeavour to help conserve our wildlife’

For media queries, please contact:

Rituparna Sengupta; Senior Manager, Campaigns, Brand and Media                                                  

rsengupta@wwfindia.net; 011-41504797

Indira Akoijam; Manager, Communications, Species and Landscapes Programme

iakoijam@wwfindia.net; 011-41504783

About WWF-India

WWF-India is one of the largest conservation organizations in the country, engaged in wildlife and nature conservation. It has an experience of over four decades in the field and has made its presence felt through a sustained effort not only towards nature and wildlife conservation, but also through sensitizing people by creating awareness through capacity building and enviro-legal support. The key areas of the work of WWF-India include conservation of key wildlife species and their habitats, management of rivers, wetlands and their eco-systems, promoting sustainable livelihoods, environment education and awareness activities within a variety of social structures, mitigating the impacts of climate change, transforming businesses and markets towards sustainability and combating illegal wildlife trade.

A part of WWF International, one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organizations, with over 5 million supporters and a global network active in over 100 countries. WWF-India has a nationwide presence in the country with over 60 state and field offices distributed over 20 states. WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of the earth's natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world's biological diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption.

-Press note