Our News Bureau – Mumbai
Mylan Laboratories, the Indian subsidiary of Mylan entered into a partnership with the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals Health Alliance (MDGHA) and the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) to fight childhood deaths caused by diarrhoea.
According to a recent United Nations study, India has the highest number of childhood fatalities per year caused by diarrhoea. These unnecessary deaths primarily are attributed to the lack of access to treatments like oral rehydration solution (ORS) and zinc. A recent World Health Organisation report estimates that diarrhoea is the second leading cause of death globally among children under five.
At a recently held conference in Mumbai a discussion was held on how public-private partnerships can be mobilised to advance the health of women and children in India, Mylan announced that it would develop and expand access to ORS and zinc for needy children across the country.
Anirudh Deshpande, Senior Vice President for Business Development, Mylan Laboratories in India, said, “This is a tragic, heartbreaking and avoidable situation that largely can be addressed if these children simply get the treatments they need. At Mylan, we are committed to increasing access to these affordable treatments to the children of India and those in the rest of the world. We share the concerns of organisations such as MDGHA and CHAI about expanding access to these life-saving medicines, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to help meet these needs.”