Johnson & Johnson Private Limited recently announced a strategic partnership with the Government of Maharashtra to implement focused disease interventions that have the potential to significantly improve the health of people and strengthen healthcare in the state. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the partnership was signed in the presence of the Minister of Public Health and Family Welfare, Government of Maharashtra, Dr Deepak Sawant in Mumbai.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Deepak Sawant said, “Johnson & Johnson India will help the state government in raising awareness amongst mine workers and their families in the state, who are at an increased risk of tuberculosis. Nine districts in Maharashtra face the maximum rate of infant mortality. In these districts, Johnson & Johnson India will organize skill development programmes for nurses, along with other activities to train them for providing proper care to infants and their treatment during the Golden-Minute. Apart from these initiatives, a collaborative awareness campaign would also be undertaken to educate people about the various infectious diseases during pregnancy.”

Through this collaboration, the Government of Maharashtra and Johnson & Johnson India will work together to address pressing public health issues such as tuberculosis (TB), maternal and child health, infection prevention, diabetes, obesity and menstrual hygiene and will support healthcare professionals and nurses in the state to further develop their skills in these areas.

The state government and Johnson & Johnson India will jointly work upon Mission TB Free Maharashtra in which mass media campaigns to raise public awareness of TB and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) will be undertaken alongside training on the detection and treatment of the disease for healthcare workers across the state.

Additionally, a focused program to increase awareness and early diagnosis of TB amongst mineworkers and their families, a group that is at increased risk of developing the disease, will be implemented under the aegis of the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Program (RNTCP).

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the third most common type of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) and can have significant ramification on patient’s health. To assist hospitals in identifying and preventing SSI, Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP), part of Johnson & Johnson India, has partnered with Joint Commissions International (JCI) in developing a unique toolkit for SSI prevention.

The Government of Maharashtra and Johnson & Johnson India will work together on designing new programmes and strengthening existing programs to help address public health issues.

Department of Public Health will develop the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for infection prevention and train the trainers for implementation across State and District Hospitals. A pilot will be conducted at the District Hospitals in Thane and Alibag.

From the perspective of bringing down Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR) and Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), care for the mother and child starts from the time of admission of the mother, to the delivery and then discharge of the mother & the child. The nurse or midwife are the key caregivers during the birth of the child.

Speaking about the partnership, Sushobhan Dasgupta, Managing Director, Johnson & Johnson Medical India & vice president, Johnson & Johnson Orthopaedics Asia Pacific said, "At Johnson & Johnson India, we share a common goal with the Government of Maharashtra to see that people have access to quality healthcare. This partnership will help us achieve our objectives towards improving the public health outcomes of the state through highly focused initiatives."