OmniActive Health Technologies
Impact evaluation study of CSR engagements
Partner/Client
OmniActive Health Technologies (OAHT)
Sector
CSR Foundation
Location
Karnataka
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- As part of OAHT’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitments, it supports communities by targeting three primary areas: health, environment, and education.
- The CSR activities include eye camps, hygiene initiatives, and farmer training while also addressing malnutrition, water, and sanitation problems.
- An impact study was undertaken by 4th Wheel Social Impact to assess the degree to which OAHT’s CSR programs have achieved positive impact outcomes.
- The objective of the study, commissioned in July 2022, was to shape all future CSR strategies and programming, by identifying impactful interventions and implementation processes and undertaking relevant course-corrective measures.
APPROACH
- Surveys and in-depth interviews were conducted with 126 respondents, consisting of eye camp beneficiaries, Community-led Total Sanitation (CLTS) program participants, principals of schools where RO purifiers were installed, women participants of the nutrition support program, farmers who participated in the training workshops, and ASHA workers who facilitated activities within local communities.
- Observation and participatory tool exercises in the form of Focus Group Discussions, Resource Mapping, card sorting and temperature gauge were also undertaken with the beneficiaries, to gauge the impact of each program.
- The data was analysed at individual and household levels, with a focus on evaluating the program based on the OECD/DAC criteria, i.e, the relevance of the interventions, their coherence with national and international development priorities and actions, program effectiveness, areas of impact, and sustainability.
INSIGHTS AND FINDINGS
- Most residents were unaware of their eye complications, and unable to afford corrective surgeries due to a lack of awareness, inadequate local healthcare facilities, and financial constraints. Senior citizens and elderly residents of the villages benefited the most from the free eye camps.
- The nutrition awareness programs had led to a positive impact on the diet of beneficiaries, via the consumption of regular meals and nutritional supplements.
- CLTS programs had inculcated an awareness of personal and communal hygiene, leading to improved hygiene practices. However, open defecation was still practised in the village, and a lack of adequate drainage facilities served as a roadblock for continued use of toilets.
- Students had excellent recall on handwashing practices taught to them, and had implemented it into their daily lives, leading to improved personal hygiene.
- The farmer training program had led to an improvement in agricultural practices, in the form of increased use of organic fertilisers and pesticides in fields and greater awareness of which crops to grow during which seasons. Digital literacy among the farmers, however, was found lacking.
RECOMMENDATIONS / VALUE ADDITION
- The impact study provided an analysis of OAHT’s CSR interventions and gave strategic advice on course correction.
- To ensure self care practices among eye surgery beneficiaries are not neglected due to financial and accessibility issues, recurring camps offering free medication as a priority have been highlighted. Additionally, as ailments such as skin diseases, hypertension, diabetes and heart disorders were prevalent in the community, general health camps with specialists were also suggested to address the dire needs in the community.
- To retain impact, regular revision sessions and general health camps with the women are recommended, so they would continue to maintain the positive eating habits inculcated during the program.
- To strengthen the CLTS program, a key recommendation is to ameliorate the existing drainage facilities, through the allocation of appropriate funds by the gram panchayat. As open defecation was still practised in the villages, incentivizing the use of toilets was suggested.
- Follow-up workshops wherein more detailed information on WASH practices could be imparted to students, are recommended. Awareness sessions among school staff to target the shoddy condition of the school toilets and surroundings would add value, with an emphasis on hiring a local cleaner to maintain cleanliness of the school’s facilities.
- To ensure increased benefits to farmers, regular meetings wherein information on innovative agricultural practices and schemes was communicated, were suggested.
