Upasana Kamineni, Vice Chairman, Apollo Foundation honoured as ‘Philanthropist of the Year’ at Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2019

Hyderabad, 26^th April, 2019: Upasana Kamineni, Vice Chairman of the Apollo Foundation, was honoured as ‘Philanthropist of the Year’ at the Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards 2019 for her contribution to the wellness industry and advocating holistic wellness as a way of life. The award recognises Ms. Kamineni’s work through the Apollo Foundation in enhancing the quality of life in rural areas through pioneering initiatives in upgrading the standards of healthcare and making timely and quality healthcare available to all with organisations like SACHi, The Billion Hearts Beating Foundation, SAHI, and CURE.

Ms. Upasana Kamineni said, “It is an honour to receive this award that recognizes our efforts in surpassing barriers and making a real difference in the lives of people through our wellness programs, regardless of their geographic location or economic status. The Apollo Foundation carries forward the commitment of Apollo Hospitals to social responsibility and the pursuit of societal good through inclusive healthcare. Awards like these reinforce our hope and enthusiasm, and assure us that we are on the right path as we continue to work on ensuring wellness for all. I dedicate the award to all the positive people around me who motivate me to do good everyday.”

The Dadasaheb Phalke Excellence Awards are an initiative by the Dadasaheb Phalke family. The award was conferred on Ms. Kamineni at a grand event that took place in Mumbai and saw leading Bollywood celebrities along with reputed personalities from across fields and industries attending the ceremony. Past recipients of the award include iconic celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Javed Akthar, Pankaj Kapoor, Dharmendra and Hrithik Roshan to name a few.

A truly inspiring women leader, Ms. Upasana Kamineni is working towards a Healthy India. One of the initiatives looks towards starting young with school programmes to educate kids on health. A popular social media influencer, Ms. Upasana Kamineni is active in spreading positivity, awareness about various health issues and sharing prevention tips through her presence on various social media platforms.

Her inspirational story of going from fat to fit by embracing a healthy lifestyle is motivating people to live a healthy lifestyle. Ms. Kamineni shares her enthusiasm for a health and fitness with information on diet and workout routines on social media and organising wellness events.

Expounding on the health initiatives, Ms. Upasana Kamineni said, “India today has the largest number of cases of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol because of unhealthy lifestyles. While focusing on prevention and rehabilitation, we also offer occupational health centres, with complete services.”

The JIYO app is another successful initiative which was implemented by the award winning philanthropist. The JIYO app tracks the user’s stress and wellness levels and sends a ‘wellness prescription’. The app aims towards making notable health-related changes in the lifestyle of the user. The application is available for download across India.

The Apollo Foundation takes inspiration from the commitment of the Apollo Hospitals group to social responsibility and the pursuit of societal good through inclusive healthcare that meets India's rural healthcare needs, and brings quality healthcare within the reach of all people regardless of their geographic location or economic status. The vision of Dr. Prathap C Reddy, the Founder of Apollo Hospitals Group is reflected in the mission of the Apollo Foundation - "To create meaningful interactions with people of our society, and help enhance their quality of life in every way we can."

The Apollo Foundation works to surpass barriers and make a real difference through pioneering social initiatives and impactful programmes that increase standards of healthcare across various regions.

Apollo Foundation’s focus in rural development is on providing total holistic care for the entire community through "Total Health", a not for profit organization. SACHi (Saving a Child’s Heart Initiative) is one of Asia’s largest voluntary organizations, dedicated to paediatric cardiac care for the underprivileged and has till date touched over 50,000 lives. The Billion Hearts Beating works to educate people on the importance of heart health, with the objective of increasing awareness and preventing heart disease and its contributing risk factors in India. The campaign is an initiative to make every Indian pledge to have a healthier heart.

SAHI conducts camps in rural areas to identify hearing impaired children with little or no access to modern medical treatment and provides them with quality hearing aids. It also provides treatment support for surgeries with the help of Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad. The CURE foundation brings cancer care to those who cannot afford it, extending preventive as well as rehabilitative cancer treatment to the economically backward.

Through DISHA - a Distance health care advancement project in partnership with Apollo Hospitals, Philips, ISRO (Indian Space Research Organization) and the Dhan Foundation, healthcare is taken to the most remote corners of the country with the objective of making quality healthcare accessible and affordable for all.

-Press note