New Delhi, August 13, 2018: To support the victims of one of the worst floods that Kerala has seen in recent history, displacing more than 54000 people, Aster Disaster Support Team has been mobilized to provide humanitarian aid. Consisting of more than 200 medical and non-medical volunteers from Aster DM Healthcare’s network of hospitals in India and led by Aster Volunteers Global Programme, the Aster Disaster Support Team has started working with local government relief centres in Wayanad, Ernakulam, Calicut, Malappuram districts to conduct medical camps, provide health check-ups and essential materials for sustenance. The pledged amount of Rs. 50 Lakhs or AED 265,000 will further strengthen the local government’s efforts to help those affected by the floods.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Azad Moopen said, “In this state of utter devastation and calamity, it is our duty as citizens to come together and help those in need in the best possible way we can. While our Aster Volunteers are leading the Disaster Support Team to help our people, we would urge each and everyone to come forward and lend a helping hand to those in need.”

Till now, the Aster Disaster Support Team has been able to reach government schools in remote areas which are currently acting as shelters for affected men, women and children and distributed relief packages consisting of essentials like food items, medicines, clothes etc. In addition, medical check-ups are being conducted to tackle ailments and prevent outbreak of any contagious diseases. Those who require hospitalization are being transferred to the nearest Aster Hospital in Kerala.

While the relief efforts will continue till the situation is stabilized, support in terms of materials like clothes, blankets, food items etc. are being collected by Aster Volunteers across the Aster network of 11 hospitals in Kerala, Bangalore, Maharashtra, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.

If anyone would like to contribute, they can reach an Aster Volunteer Lead in their respective areas: UAE- Krishnabhaskar Mangalasserri- +971 558309649|Kochi- Latheef: +919446222135, Dr. Sudha: +919562721642 | Kottakkal- Sumesh: +919656000601 | Calicut- Anvar: +919847520600 |Wayanad- Ajilal: +919847762080 | Bangalore- Shaheen: +919945542392 |Hyderabad- Venkatesh: +919866957006 | Vijayawada- Ratna: +919052154888 |Kolhapur- Ravindra: +919325561111.

About Aster Volunteers

Aster Volunteers programme is the global corporate social responsibility initiative of Aster DM Healthcare. It was launched on occasion of the company’s 30^th anniversary in 2017 and provides a platform which bridges the gap between people who would like to help with those in need. Today, through various initiatives like Blood Donation drives, Basic Life Support training, Free Surgeries and Investigations, Medical Camps and recruitment of differently abled people, the programme has been able to impact 646,764 lives across geographies.

Aster DM Healthcare Limited is one of the largest private healthcare service providers operating in multiple GCC states and is an emerging healthcare player in India. With an inherent emphasis on clinical excellence the Company is one of the few entities in the world with a strong presence across primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary healthcare through its 19 hospitals, 101 clinics and 207 pharmacies. These are manned by our 17,300+ employees from across the geographies that we are present in, delivering on a simple yet strong promise to its people: “We’ll treat you well.” We reach out to all economic segments in the GCC states through our differentiated healthcare services across the “Aster”, “Medcare” and “Access” brands.