Apollo Hospitals Group Wins G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation

NEW DELHI, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- The Only Healthcare Organization in the World to be Announced as a Leader in the Management And Delivery of High-Quality Tertiary Care in Asia

- G20 Challenge Recognizes Successful Businesses With an Innovative Way of Working With People at the Bottom of The Pyramid

India's Apollo Hospitals Group has won the G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation, a competition launched by the Group of 20 and International Finance Corporation (IFC), at a ceremony hosted in Mexico. Ambassador Rogelio Granguillhome, Executive Secretary of the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group; Dr Edmund Duckwitz, Ambassador of Germany to Mexico; and Mr Lars Thunell, Executive Vice President of IFC, presented the awards.

Apollo Hospitals Group was declared the winner - the only healthcare organization in the world to win this honour - for its 'Reach Hospitals' initiative, which takes quality tertiary healthcare to semi-urban and rural areas in India. Apollo Reach Hospitals were created to bridge the healthcare access gap by making specialized healthcare available to the poorest people. The Apollo Reach Hospital in Karimnagar, Andhra Pradesh, was chosen by Apollo Hospitals Group to represent its model in the G20 Challenge. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India had inaugurated this facility in 2008. This pioneering initiative of the Apollo Hospitals Group aims to reach world-class healthcare to semi urban and rural India. Apollo Reach has a wide array of offerings apart from regular medical facilities including pharmacies and insurance services.

Ms Preetha Reddy, Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, "We are extremely proud to be recognized by the G20 for our efforts in bringing about a visible change in the lives of people at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP). More than 25 percent of families in India live on the margins, spending less than US$70 a month on goods and services. Many of their basic needs go unmet, and they have little access to clean water, financial services, and education. More than 85 percent of these families live outside major cities. Unfortunately, most tertiary healthcare facilities in India are located in major metropolitan areas - meaning that most Indians have little or no access to specialized healthcare services. We consider it our responsibility to extend the same kind of healthcare services and facilities to smaller towns. This is our way of reinvesting in the ecosystem and contributing to the Indian society at large."

Apollo Reach Hospitals operate in less-developed population centres - termed Tier II cities - and offer medical care at rates up to 30 percent lower than other major hospitals. Within Reach Hospitals, low-income care is subsidized by services sold to high-income patients from the same area.

The online competition was launched to find the best examples worldwide of businesses in developing countries that provide critical goods, services, and livelihood opportunities in financially, environmentally, and socially sustainable ways to those living at the bottom of the pyramid, called 'inclusive businesses'. The G20 Challenge on Inclusive Business Innovation recognized businesses with innovative, scalable, and commercially viable ways of working with low-income people in developing countries.

An independent judging panel - including representatives from the G20, the private sector, academia, foundations, and international finance institutions - selected 15 challenge winners based on the following criteria:

• Innovation

• Development results

• Potential for growth, including replication of the business model in other markets

• Financial sustainability

• Environmental and social sustainability.

The Group of 20 at the G20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, announced the winners on 18 June 2012.

About Apollo Hospitals:

In 1983, Dr Prathap C Reddy, the architect of Indian healthcare, launched the first corporate hospital in India, Apollo Hospitals Chennai. Over the years, Apollo Hospitals Group has grown to become Asia's foremost integrated healthcare organization with over 8,500 beds across 54 hospitals, more than 1,200 pharmacies and over 60 primary care clinics. The group also offers medical business process outsourcing services, health insurance services and clinical research divisions with a focus on epidemiological studies, stem cell research and genetic research. Apollo Hospitals institutionalized quality across all its operations and 7 of the group's hospitals have been accredited by the Joint Commission International.

To develop talent for the burgeoning need of superior healthcare delivery, Apollo Hospitals Group has 11 nursing colleges and programmes for hospital management and numerous endeavours for continuing medical education and clinical research. These achievements have earned Apollo Hospitals Group several accolades, including the Centre of Excellence from the Government of India. In a rare honour, the Government of India issued a commemorative stamp in recognition of Apollo's contribution, the first for a healthcare organization in India.

Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group was conferred with the prestigious Padma Vibhushan. For over 28 years now, the Apollo Hospitals Group has continuously excelled and maintained leadership in medical innovation, world-class clinical services and cutting-edge technology. 

Apollo Hospitals are consistently ranked amongst the best hospitals in India and globally for advanced medical services and research and have been honoured with the trust of over 20 million patients who came from 55 countries. For more information, visit www.apollohospitals.com

About International Finance Corporation (IFC)

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused exclusively on the private sector. They help developing countries achieve sustainable growth by financing investment, providing advisory services to businesses and governments, and mobilizing capital in the international financial markets. In fiscal 2011, amid economic uncertainty across the globe, the corporation helped clients create jobs, strengthen environmental performance, and contribute to their local communities - all while driving our investments to an all-time high of nearly $19 billion. For more information, visit www.ifc.org

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