A safe water supply is a basic necessity, and yet many residents in India must travel long distances to obtain clean water. According to UNICEF, waterborne diseases have an estimated economic burden of approximately $600 million each year in India. This is especially true for drought- and flood-prone areas, which impact approximately one-third of the country’s population.

To help address these challenges, Medline India has supported the installation of anytime water machines (ATMs)—water dispensing systems—in four villages witin the country’s Satara District. The machines utilize reverse osmosis to remove contamination. The ATMs are located in Savarghar, Durgalwadi, Satewadi and Vadoli Nileshwar in Pune, Maharashtra—the western part of the country, where Medline India is headquartered—and serve more than 10,000 residents, total.

“These water stations have a tremendous impact in the villages where they are located,” said Atul Devasthali, Medline India senior vice president. “Many villagers, mostly women, have to travel long distances—often 25 kilometers (approximately 20 miles)—to fetch water which they then carry back to their village in huge vessels. Thanks to the installation of ATMS, all of villagers in these communities have access to clean, potable drinking water for themselves, as well as their livestock. The ATMs also help in reducing associated health issues caused by contaminated water.”

Medline funded the projects, overseen and completed last year by the local Deepastambha Charitable Trust and the organization’s Gramarthan project, with help from local villagers.

More recently, Medline India funded the installation of a 10-horsepower solar-powered water pumping system, to save energy and ensure a sufficient water supply during the summer months, and 30, solar-powered lights in Savarghar. Over the past several years, Medline India also has funded numerous renovations, supplies and software for rural schools in Pune, Maharashtra, including:

• New classrooms at Raja Raghunathrao Vidyalaya and Junior College at Bhor, benefitting approximately 35 students with hearing and speech disabilities.
• The renovation of several buildings at Pasure Madhyamik Vidyalaya, benefitting more than 40 students.
• A new sound/speech room at the Suhrud Mandal’s Sinhgad-Dhayari campus aiding 50, hearing-impaired students. Hearing aids also were distributed to 30 students.
• Education software to support digital learning efforts at five Community Learning Centers (CLCs).

“Our team in India is helping to tackle the barriers to optimal health and care,” said Francesca Olivier, vice president of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) at Medline. “And their efforts support and reflect Medline’s commitment to sustainability and healthcare access and affordability.”

For many years, Medline has helped to bring employee expertise to low-resource countries. In 2022, Medline gifted more than 640 metric tons of medical supplies, valued at approximately $2.7 million, to support healthcare in over 80 low-resource countries around the world.

Medline operates in 125 countries, and has more than 34,000 employees in North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Approximately 12,500 employees work outside of the U.S.

Learn more about how Medline is working to create positive social and environmental change throughout the world.