National: As the country was fighting the second wave of the deadliest pandemic, Network18, India’s most diversified media conglomerate, along with Federal Bank had launched ‘Sanjeevani – A Shot of Life’, the largest vaccine awareness and facilitation initiative. After travelling to five cities and touching the lives of more than a lac people across the country, the programme will culminate with a four-hour telethon on Sunday, 12th December, 12 noon to 4:00 pm on Network18 TV & Digital Platforms.
The tele-thon, to be hosted by Network18’s prominent anchors, Sheeren Bhan, Zakka Jacob, and Anand Narasimhan, will bring a host of renowned personalities such as Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemical and Fertilizers of India, Minister Of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur, Cabinet Minister of Tourism and Environment for the Government of Maharashtra Aditya Thakeray Indian Athlete Neeraj Chopra, popular celebrity Kareena Kapoor, Chief Ministers of the states that the Sanjeevani ki Gaadi travelled to, the initiative’s anthem composer and singer Shankar Mahadevan, Federal Bank MD and CEO Shyam Srinivasan, Serum Institute of India’s Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawala, representatives from the initiative’s NGO partners United Way of Mumbai and Apollo 24×7, and various other corporate leaders and celebrities.
Launched on the occasion of World Health Day on April 7th, 2021, soon after the vaccination drive was announced for the senior citizens, the ‘Gaadi’ travelled to Amritsar, Indore, Nashik, Guntur and Dakshina Kannada where they conducted high-octane vaccine awareness drives through street plays, street dances, meetings with villagers through the Sarpanches, and through promotional material distributed and displayed across the areas. Additionally, they also assisted registration of locals to the closest vaccination centres by setting up kiosks at multiple locations.
The tele-thon will showcase the key highlights of the initiative’s achievements over the past eight months—vaccination report cards of each city, stories the beneficiary families who have been impacted by the drive, the Champions of Change i.e. the frontline personnel who enabled the vaccination drive, and Citizen Changemakers who mobilised community vaccination efforts—and finally culminating in a reveal of what the initiative plans for Season 2.
Puneet Singhvi, President-Digital & Corporate Strategy, Network18 Media & Investments Ltd, shared, “As a media house, our people have travelled the length and breadth of the country in the past 18 months meeting various individuals from various segments whose lives have all been impacted by the pandemic. It was this first-hand experience that led us to the insight to develop the idea of ‘Sanjeevani – a Shot of Life’. We are grateful to Federal Bank who came on board whole- heartedly to support the need of the hour. It has only been due to their unwavering assistance combined with the efforts of our on-ground NGO partners United Way of Mumbai and Apollo 24X7 that we were able to touch the lives of more than a lac people through this robust drive. We will soon be launching the 2 nd phase of the initiative, which is a startling reminder of the fact that the dangers of the pandemic are far from over.”
Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO, Federal Bank Ltd. said, “Through our CSR programs, our aim has always been to address the real needs of local communities. As the country fights against one of the deadliest viruses, we were keen to partner in any way that we could. ‘Sanjeevani – a Shot of Life’ is our co-creation with Network18, which, over the last eight months has travelled to five different cities to raise awareness on how best we can fight this battle against COVID-19. I am glad that, through this mega outreach initiative, we have been able to bolster the efforts of our Government towards vaccinating all eligible Indians by the end of 2021. While we are at the close of a successful 1st phase, the 2nd phase will take us further towards this goal.”
Watch the four-hour long telethon on Sunday, 12th December, from 12 noon to 4:00 pm only on Network18 TV & Digital Platforms.
