IIM Bangalore pledge its support to donate 1,00,000 vaccines to reach the country’s urban and rural poor, as part of their recovery, rehabilitation and prevention plans for Covid-19. Over 1,000 alumni of IIMB from across India and the world attended the first ever virtual edition of IIMBueX, a leadership conclave organised by the alumni for the alumni. The conclave was led by keynote addresses by Finance and Corporate Affairs MinisterNirmala Sitharaman and Chairperson Board of Governors of IIMB Dr Devi Shetty, with a focus on not only recovery but also rehabilitation and prevention.
At the event, IIM Bangalore Alumni Association (IIMBAA) unveiled an innovative fundraising initiative, to vaccinate close to 1,00,000 people from the underprivileged sections of society. This initiative was launched by Dr Devi Shetty.
Three-prong approach
Lauding the efforts of IIMBAA, Sitharaman said, “This initiative — donate a vaccine — comes at the right time and such an effort from the alumni of IIM Bangalore is emulatable; something that every institution in India can learn from.” She also drew attention to the myriad Covid-19 response initiatives that the government of India has been meticulously planning on a war footing, for improvement and sustainability of healthcare infrastructure, not just in the metro cities, but creating a roadmap to ensure that this reaches every block. “We must all join hands to deliver a three-pronged approach of ‘rebooting, re-imagining, and reconnecting’ India, and that technology will play a bigger role, now more than ever,” she said.
IIMB Director Rishikesha Krishnan said the initiative would help one lakh underprivileged people in India get free and fast access to vaccines. Narayana Health founder Devi Shetty, who chairs the IIMB Board of Governors, also hailed the move, given that “more than 70 per cent of India’s non-formal workforce is out of jobs”. He has been appointed by the State government to head the task force to prepare for the third wave of Covid-19.
Harish Mittal, President IIMBAA, said that there are over 25,000 alumni of IIMB across the world and reaching the 100,000-vaccine target was not too far away. He expressed his profuse thanks to all alumni and urged everyone to come together as one IIMBAA to Build Back Better.