Our Bureau
Washington
A US-based non-profit Voice of Specially Abled People (VOSAP) announced an initiative called Project Hitarth to enhance healthcare access for individuals with intellectual disabilities. The initiative aims to benefit 10,000 people in India in the first year.
Under the project, US-based Voice of Specially Abled People (VOSAP) has entered into a collaboration with Parivaar NCPO (National Confederation of Parents Organizations) to provide financial support to social workers to assist individuals with intellectual disabilities in accessing much-needed therapies, dental work, outpatient department services and get reimbursement up to Rs 1 lakh per year from the government of India’s Niramaya scheme.
“We are very excited for the opportunities with this new model to expand VOSAP impact that leverages the government of India’s existing programs and strengths of our trusted, reputed partners like Parivaar,” said VOSAP’s California-based founder Pranav Desai.
VOSAP is a leading disability sector NGO, having enabled more than 25,000 persons with disabilities since 2017 by providing assistive devices, surgical interventions and scholarships.
A joint research conducted by VOSAP and Parivaar NCPO revealed significant underutilization of the scheme due to challenges in online enrolment, understanding benefits and navigating the complicated claim process, the statement said.
This indicates a very poor enrolment as the number of individuals with intellectual disabilities in India are more than one crore and significantly low reimbursements amounts ie very little impact of the Niramaya program.
The pilot program aims to benefit 10,000 individuals with intellectual disabilities within its first year, with the goal of scaling to 1,00,000 beneficiaries. By improving access to health care and reducing the financial burden of medical expenses, (Project) Hitarth strives to enhance the quality of life for individuals with intellectual disabilities through essential therapies such as physiotherapy and speech therapy, etc.
Desai started the VOSAP movement in 2014 from America with advocacy efforts at policy level with Govt of India to bring in structural changes such as new law – Rights of PwD Act 2016, Comprehensive Disability Policy, Accessible India Campaign etc. To accelerate adoption and implementation of these structural changes, he started grassroots movement of compassionate volunteers, enabled by VOSAP digital tools.
