IIM Bangalore Alumni Association has launched the Donate a Vaccine initiative, where alumni from the B-school have pledged their support to donate 100,000 vaccines to reach the country’s urban and rural poor, as part of their recovery, rehabilitation and prevention plans for Covid-19.
On Saturday, over 1000 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 minister Nirmala Sitharaman & Chairperson Board of Governors of IIMB Dr. Devi Shetty, with a focus on not only recovery but also rehabilitation & prevention.
At the event, IIM Bangalore Alumni Association (IIMBAA) unveiled an innovative fundraising initiative, to vaccinate close to 100,000 people from the underprivileged sections of society.
“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,” said the finance minister, according to a statement issued by the institute.
“We must all join together to deliver a three-pronged approach of ‘rebooting, reimagining and reconnecting’ India, and that technology will play a bigger role, now more than ever, for us to realise these ambitions across all sectors, be it healthcare, education, agriculture or finance,” she added.
IIMB Director Rishikesha Krishnan said: “IIM Bangalore has always stood strong with its alumni community and I am pleased with this innovative Covid response drive of Donate a vaccine. The drive will help one lakh underprivileged people in India get faster access to a paid vaccine at just Rs 1000 per jab, and I am delighted that our alumni will be contributing towards this initiative.”
Dr. Devi Shetty said that it is not just India’s villages, but a large section of India’s urban poor is also deeply affected by the pandemic. “With more than 70% of India’s non-formal workforce out of jobs, this initiative from IIMB alumni is the need of the hour and by providing a paid vaccine, we will be able to ensure that a significant number of underprivileged people will get the first dose faster.”
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.
IIMBueX concluded with a panel discussion, with Dr. Gagandeep Kang, clinical scientist from CMC Vellore, Professor Chimay Tumbe, author of, “The age of the pandemics”, and Dr Ajay Nair, CEO Swasth Digital Health Foundation. The panel shared their views on pandemic response, building resilience, financial and technology pivots and innovation to face the Covid-19 crisis.
