It’s common to feel tired, even exhausted, during pregnancy. But the breathlessness and fatigue that a 20-year-old anonymous patient experienced when she was seven months pregnant were symptoms of a potentially life-threatening condition: anemia. With a hemoglobin level of 4.6 g/dL, well below the healthy range of 11.6-15 g/dL of blood, this patient was severely anemic.
The prevalence of anemia in India is a significant public health issue. In 2022, ZS joined forces with the nonprofit Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care (SRLC) on their flagship program, Project Anemia. The project addresses the challenge of nutritional-deficiency anemia within the Valsad, Gujarat community and has benefited a total of 150,000 people over the past two years. Leveraging our expertise in strategy, data management and analytics, ZS aims to make better health outcomes achievable for people across the region.
For this patient, this meant access to timely healthcare that increased her hemoglobin level to 10.1 g/dL and enabled her to successfully deliver healthy twin babies.
ZSers often apply their unique knowledge, skills and passions to causes through volunteerism, pro bono consulting, donation matching, industry partnerships and more. We are dedicated to shaping a better future for India, and our partnership with SRLC exemplifies our commitment to improving care and transforming people’s lives.
Where passion changes lives
Project Anemia was initiated at the charitable, multispecialty hospital Shrimad Rajchandra Hospital and Research Centre (SRHRC) in Dharampur, Gujarat, India. Driven by a time-bound action plan to manage and reduce the incidence of nutritional-deficiency anemia, ZS’s partnership with SRHRC is making important strides in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved communities in rural South Gujarat.
“Income and education are two socioeconomic factors behind the prevalence of anemia in India,” says Eashita Jaggi, project managing officer of this SRHRC pro bono project and ZS Cares lead in New Delhi. “Tackling this through targeted interventions and enhanced access to healthcare services, our partnership is making a life-changing difference for people in need.”
Her pro bono team members, composed of ZSers across India (Mohit Sood, Rohit Bhagwat, Karishma Trikha, Shivang Agarwal, Sourabh Joshi, Preeti Premraj, Komal Thakkar, Apoorva L. Sharma and Akshita Vyas), have put their passion for changing lives into implementing screenings for anemia, stronger outreach, interactive patient education and improved treatment and follow-up care, as well as analytics to monitor key performance indicators and enable proactive measures to address program gaps. Their efforts to identify protocols and establish robust technological infrastructure have improved data quality by 50% and enhanced the program’s scalability.
“It’s especially gratifying that since ZS’s involvement, the initiative has positively affected the lives of 115,000-plus individuals in very remote areas, including adults, expectant mothers, women of reproductive age, infants, preschool and school-age children. It’s truly heartening to be part of the joy and hard work of the data analytics team, as we continue to make a meaningful difference to our society,” says Komal Thakkar, a business technology solutions consultant in Pune.
By the numbers, ZS’s contributions are transformative:
- Caregivers are reaching more patients, with a 15% reduction in time spent per patient.
- Screening is more consistent, with 86% of patients now undergoing tests on their first visit—up from 67% in 2022.
- Patients are engaging in vital follow-up visits, which increased to 42% in early 2024 from 29% in 2022.
- Patient health outcomes are improving, with 63% now testing positive for anemia, down from 80% in the second half of 2023.
- Schools have made a significant impact, with 77% of our improving patients now testing as no longer anemic.
The power of this difference emerges in the stories of patients like a 52-year-old man who found himself easily fatigued and at increased risk of injury in the workplace. When a screening showed severe anemia, he received a blood transfusion—all through Project Anemia. Now symptom-free and back to work, he receives regular follow-up care to monitor and maintain his progress.
Moving forward, ZS and the SRHRC team will enhance the effectiveness of the current program and strategically expand our reach to new target audiences and geographies.
To learn more about how ZSers are improving health outcomes for all, follow us on social media and explore our open positions for opportunities to join us in driving sustainable change.
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