Indira, a daily wage earner, came to the Anahat Clinic in Shantinagar, in December 2021 with a fasting blood sugar (FBS) level of 359 and postprandial (after eating) of 725 - both several times over the normal limits. With regular medication, sugar monitoring and slight lifestyle modifications through Anahat’s preventive health programme, Prerna, Indira’s FBS is 106 and her PPBS is 227 - both close to the normal range. This was achieved in just one year. Indira is now no longer on medication for diabetes, showing that small changes can successfully, in some cases, even reverse the disease. Indira, a…
Read moreArticles by Rani Desai
Rani, CEO and founder of Anahat Foundation, is an experienced public health professional, passionate about ensuring that healthcare is inclusive and equitable. She has worked in the development sector for over two decades, leading Biocon Foundation for 12 years, between 2005 and 2017. She led the foundation’s preventive and primary healthcare programs under which 8 primary health centres were run across Karnataka. The Foundation also collaborated with the state governments of Rajasthan and Karnataka, to manage and support government primary health centres and sub-centres. Rani initiated strong interventions for early detection, prevention, and management of chronic diseases, including oral, breast, and cervical cancer, and diabetes and hypertension. Among the many awards that the Foundation won under Rani’s leadership, the award and recognition that she treasures the most is the first Public Health Champion award presented by the World Health Organization, India in 2015.