Boehringer Ingelheim and the Muskan Foundation inaugurate facility for children with multiple disabilities 

Ingelheim, Germany, Dec 18, 2018 – Boehringer Ingelheim and the Muskan Foundation recently inaugurated a 'first-of-its-kind' facility for children with Multiple Disabilities with Visual Impairment (MDVI), at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital, Mumbai. The facility will help to empower children with MDVI, drive awareness for their special needs and provide parents and teachers with the required knowledge to better understand the children’s difficulties.  

"Through this initiative we are touching the lives of 102 children for a better future,” says Dipti Gandhi, Director of the Muskan Foundation. “At the center, we have individualised education programs, specially designed keeping in mind the needs and requirements of every child for his growth. These programs integrate therapists, parents as well as special educators," she added. 

Under the umbrella of Boehringer Ingelheim’s initiative “Making More Health”, the family-owned company wishes to reinforce the importance of having a normal life for children with special needs. “This is one of the many programs undertaken by Boehringer Ingelheim to fulfill our commitment to approach critical unmet challenges in global public health. At this unique facility, we hope to enable the children with MDVI to lead a normal life,” says Sharad Tyagi, Managing Director at Boehringer Ingelheim, India.

Emphasizing on the unique initiative at the hospital, Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO of Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children confirms that this kind of an initiative delivers better access, helps the families and support for children with disabilities. “Improving the access to health services is one of our key priorities. Thereby, the initiative aims to provide the entire medical and mental support system necessary for children with special needs. We are very happy with this initiative which will help improve the experience of disabled patients who visit the hospital,” she added.

In India, there are approximately two million disabled children up to 6 years old, out of which 1.4 million children live in rural and 590.000 in urban areas. 149.000 children have multiple disabilities. Teachers are not trained and schools do not have the infrastructure to deal with children with multiple disabilities. 

"Under the umbrella of our global initiative we make positive impact happen – in a very tangible way. I am very proud that we could inaugurate this facility today together with local stakeholders. It makes the further milestone in our journey in India where we are running huge health programs for tribes in Tamil Nadu & Kerala," says Manuela Pastore, global lead of Making More Health at Boehringer Ingelheim.

Boehringer Ingelheim
Improving the health and quality of life of patients is the goal of the research-driven pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. The focus in doing so is on diseases for which no satisfactory treatment option exists to date. The company therefore concentrates on developing innovative therapies that can extend patients’ lives. In animal health, Boehringer Ingelheim stands for advanced prevention. 

Family-owned since it was established in 1885, Boehringer Ingelheim is one of the pharmaceutical industry’s top 20 companies. Some 50,000 employees create value through innovation daily for the three business areas human pharmaceuticals, animal health and biopharmaceuticals. 
In 2017, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of nearly 18.1 billion euros. R&D expenditure, exceeding three billion euros, corresponded to 17.0 per cent of net sales. 

As a family-owned company, Boehringer Ingelheim plans in generations and focuses on long-term success. The company therefore aims at organic growth from its own resources with simultaneous openness to partnerships and strategic alliances in research. In everything it does, Boehringer Ingelheim naturally adopts responsibility towards mankind and the environment. 

More information about Boehringer Ingelheim can be found on www.boehringer-ingelheim.com or in our annual report: http://annualreport.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

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Making More Health 
Making More Health (MMH) is a global initiative by Boehringer Ingelheim in cooperation with Ashoka, a non-governmental organisation. Aiming to improve health for humans, animals and communities worldwide Making More Health pursues a multitude of approaches to finding solutions and tailoring these solutions to specific projects. 

“By supporting and connecting social entrepreneurs in the healthcare industry, Boehringer Ingelheim seeks to have an impact on improving health beyond its core business. We do not want to limit ourselves to linear approaches to solutions. Indeed, since the initiative’s inception, we have focused on a multitude of issues and activities while supporting lateral thinking and networking. Making More Health also plays a very significant role within the company. We want to show our employees how important it is to be dedicated to social issues because it fosters new ways of thinking beyond traditional approaches,” explains Manuela Pastore, manager of Making More Health. Boehringer Ingelheim employees can become involved in Making More Health in a variety of ways. With the MMH Executive in Residence Program, Boehringer Ingelheim employees go on location to support the projects of social entrepreneurs. The MMH Youth Venture Program supports the next generation in developing solutions for the healthcare industry, thereby encouraging social entrepreneurship and action

More information about Making More Health can be found on www.makingmorehealth.com, https://careers.boehringer-ingelheim.com and https://www.boehringer-ingelheim.com/who-we-are/access-healthcare

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https://www.linkedin.com/company/making-more-health1/