In a country where health and well-being are evolving focal points, Thryve Digital Health has emerged as a key player in reshaping healthcare paradigms. Arvind Srinivasan, CFO & Head of CSR at Thryve, provides insights into the integration of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) within the company's mission. Against the backdrop of a transforming health landscape in India, Thryve's CSR initiative, 'Thryve For Good,' takes center-stage. Against the backdrop of the prevailing challenges faced by stray animals, particularly dogs, in India, this interview brings insights from the organization's role in reshaping the narrative. Arvind delves into the impactful 'Thryve Animal Lifeline League' (TALL) program, offering a glimpse into the recent record-setting community dog vaccination drive and the broader vision for community well-being such as supporting visually impaired children with scribes. This interview unravels Thryve Digital Health's strategic approach to CSR and its role in fostering a healthier and happier society.
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Q: Thryve Digital Health is involved in creating innovative healthcare solutions. How do CSR activities complement its mission of transforming healthcare, and what impact it has created on communities and society at large?
A: What could be more aligned with our raison d'être than CSR? And when that alignment is more focused on our core of a "healthier and happier world," we become more precise in our choices. Based on first principles, we have developed a natural alignment with conducting CSR activities related to health and wellness, which opens up a horizon of possibilities. There is an interesting holistic nature to this agenda, which complements our intention. Every act of good we undertake, whether it may seem somewhat distant, such as urban afforestation or animal welfare, contributes to the larger benevolent agenda of creating a healthier and happier world.
Q: Can you elaborate on the Thryve Digital Health initiative 'Thryve For Good' and how it supports community animal welfare, such as the recent dog vaccination event?
A: There's a conscious reason why we named our CSR Program "Thryve for Good." Besides the intentional pun, the agenda is to drive every little thing that makes life better for people and the planet from a health and happiness perspective. As we evaluated the ecosystem around us, the opportunity to address relatively overlooked areas caught our attention, with animal welfare being one of them. Only a few corporations have chosen to invest in and support this area. TALL (Thryve Animal Lifeline League) emerged from that conscious intent, creating a platform for our associates to partner on animal welfare causes close to their hearts. Community dogs have been a point of contention for various reasons. Caught between a world that strongly dislikes them and a small section of animal lovers who care for them, community dogs need a brand makeover. In fact, the very term "community dogs" moves away from the common reference "stray dogs," reflecting an essential sensitivity that can make our living spaces more habitable.
With offices in Chennai and Hyderabad, both cities known for their scorching summer heat, we initiated our TALL engagement humbly by providing water bowls for dogs, as well as other birds and animals in our neighborhoods. As we contemplated other ways to make a positive impact on our local animal community—considering that dogs are crucial to this ecosystem—it was natural for us to explore an involvement with community dogs, aiming for a better balance within the world they share with us.
Q: Thryve Digital Health recently set a world record for vaccinating a large number of community dogs. What motivated Thryve Digital Health to undertake a vaccination drive for community dogs as part of their CSR initiatives?
A: Vaccinating community dogs emerged as an opportunity for us to help reduce the stigma surrounding them, ensuring their safety for the people in our communities, while also guaranteeing their health and longevity. Partnering with Heaven For Animals, an NGO based in Chennai, we initiated a community dog vaccination program, covering 1111 dogs. The significance of the number 1111 lies in its uniqueness. It represents our one-of-a-kind program for community dogs, with the singular goal of enhancing their safety within our communities and setting a world record for the initiative. The overarching aim is to raise awareness about the necessity and potential impact of community dog vaccination. The administered vaccinations include a 7-in-1 Vaccine (DHPPI), an anti-rabies vaccine, and a deworming dose for puppies.
Q: Can you provide insights into the TALL (Thryve Animal Lifeline League) initiative, its broader goals, and how Thryve Digital Health ensures that CSR initiatives like the community dog vaccination program align with the organizational vision of creating a healthier and happier world?
A: TALL (Thryve Animal Lifeline League) originated from Thryve For Good's profound desire to consider the broader community ecosystem in which we all reside. While ecology-focused initiatives, such as afforestation programs, are relatively common, the ecosystem of community animals and birds that coexist with us often goes unnoticed. We address both! Given the established symbiotic relationship between caring for the surrounding fauna and potential health challenges — as evidenced by epidemics and pandemics like H1N1 and COVID— the necessity of prioritizing their well-being for a healthier world becomes evident. Dogs, as a species, have brought joy to much of humanity, making a community health program focused on their well-being a clear opportunity for us.
Q: Are there any specific stories or testimonials from the community dog vaccination program or other CSR efforts that illustrate the positive impact on the lives of beneficiaries and communities?
A: What better testimonial than from Dr J. Radhakrishnan, Commissioner – Greater Chennai Corporation:
As a veterinarian it was nice to be part of the joint efforts of the NGO Heaven for animals and the GCC in attempting 1111 vaccination of dogs in the streets and also companion dogs along with a team of Vets and lovers of animals who aim for adoption and keeping the animals healthy. This was part of HFA's 2nd year anniversary & as a part of World Rabies Day the mega vaccination drive (World Record Attempt) was organized in association with THRYVE DIGITAL LLP.
Q: Can you explain how Thryve Digital Health collaborates with NGOs like Heaven for Animals and other social sector stakeholders for their CSR initiatives? How can such collaborative mechanisms expedite the efforts of the organization?
A: As an organization, we believe in the power of deep domain expertise to achieve demonstrable excellence, and we manifest this belief in the partners we choose. Collaborating with best-in-class NGOs that focus on the social causes aligned with our mission has consistently helped us attain outstanding results. While we rely on their execution excellence capabilities, we enhance our impact through strategic and marketing initiatives that amplify outcomes and visibility.
Q: How does Thryve Digital Health measure the impact and success of their CSR initiatives, including those related to animal welfare?
A: At Thryve Digital Health, we adhere to the concept of Return On Intent (ROI), through which we have reaped disproportionate rewards from our focused efforts. These rewards are gauged based on the impact we have had on the target groups we serve. Traditional parameters for measuring CSR can often be misleading. What we aimed to do and how effectively we accomplished it suffices for validation. For instance, at Thryve, our key performance indicator (KPI) often revolves around whether we identified an unaddressed sweet spot and catered to it. This could involve actions such as distributing 100 laptops to 10 deserving institutions, procuring specific equipment for healthcare entities, supporting visually impaired children with scribes, or even providing entertainment for the differently-abled, as exemplified by our initiative "Brailles On Wheels." These instances serve as the metrics we aim for.
Q: In addition to animal welfare, what other areas does Thryve Digital Health's CSR program 'Thryve for Good' focus on? Can you highlight some notable projects or achievements?
A: Thryve For Good, by definition, focuses on segments that are often overlooked. For example, we approached the Chennai Police to inquire about their most pressing needs, leading us to identify the necessity for a fully-equipped ambulance for the Police Hospital. This year, we fulfilled this requirement, following a similar initiative with the Hyderabad Police in 2022. A similar approach was taken with Thryve Scribe Duty in collaboration with the National Association for the Blind. Defining our audience and impact based on observation and feedback has yielded the best results for us. Additionally, we define our target segments based on the priority of our agenda, which we have crafted as creating a Healthier and Happier World, aligning every action around this core objective.
Q: Can you share your future plans for expanding CSR projects, such as the dog vaccination program, to more regions or communities; and provide insights into any upcoming CSR initiatives related to animal welfare or other health and wellness areas that Thryve Digital Health is currently working on?
A: The Canvax 23 World Record Attempt followed a relatively smaller community dog vaccination program in Hyderabad. Thryve's CSR programs are implemented at scale across our twin locations, Chennai and Hyderabad. The upcoming initiative on the agenda is the ABC program (Animal Birth Control), which constitutes an essential intervention for community dogs across both cities, alongside other customized programs focused on animal welfare that we will curate. The broader CSR agenda will sharpen its focus on "point-solutions" (a term borrowed from our tech world) for specific areas within community health, care, and support. Our primary focus will be on supporting blood banks such as Arohi Clinic in Hyderabad, public health facilities like VHS in Chennai, and a set of newly identified healthcare support ecosystems.
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