As part of his commitment to social welfare, Dr Azad Moopen, Founder and Chairman of DM Healthcare, will contribute 20 per cent of his wealth and time for improving healthcare delivery to the poor, mainly in India, West Asia and Africa.

Around Rs 100 crore will be contributed for the purpose through DM Foundation over the next five years, Dr Moopen said here on Monday.

Dr Moopen, who is also the Chairman of DM Foundation and MIMS Charitable Trust, said that though definite plans for the proper utilisation of the funds were yet be firmed up, a major part of the cash would be earmarked for development of infrastructure for treatment of heart and kidney diseases and cancer — areas that required huge capital and were inaccessible to the poor.

Apart from this, DM Healthcare would also be actively involved in preventive healthcare and awareness campaigns, he said.

Dr Moopen, who was conferred with the Padma Shri by the President last month, said that while India was shining with nearly 10 per cent GDP growth, the country was languishing at the bottom of the global hunger index pyramid with a ranking of 65 among 84 countries. The country was worse than some of the African countries in the index.

According to Planning Commission statistics, 37.2 per cent of the country's population, which amounts to around 40 crore, live below the poverty line, surviving on less than Rs 40 a day.

Dr Moopen said that it was easy to blame politicians and policymakers for the sad state of healthcare of the people below the poverty line. But it was also the duty of people with material and intellectual resources to address the issue as far as possible, he added.

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