USAID / ASHA
A Public-Private Partnership with a Meaningful and Lasting Impact
Since 1982 and in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID’s) American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (ASHA) program, CMC has enhanced the educational, research and charitable care aspects of the institution on more than 25 separate occasions, benefiting from over $11 million in construction and capital improvement grants.
The Vellore CMC Foundation, working in collaboration with CMC leadership, has been awarded funding through USAID’s ASHA program resulting in CMC’s ability to introduce the following programs since 1982:
- Anatomic Pathology and Clinical Laboratory
- A Basic Sciences Laboratory
- Blood Bank Management System
- Brachytherapy HDL Unit
- Disaster Recovery & Management
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for Infants with Birth Asphyxia
- On-Campus Library at the College of Nursing
- Pneumatic Systems
- Sewage Treatment Plant
Two facilities from the Foundation’s relationship include the ASHA Education Building and the CMC College of Nursing Library.
A Shared Commitment to Deepening the World’s Understanding of American Ideals
Each of the ASHA-funded programs introduced at CMC Vellore serves as a study and demonstration center for American ideas and practices. The USAID/ASHA grants awarded to CMC have helped cultivate positive relationships between citizens of the United States and India. CMC’s implementation of USAID/ASHA funded projects has directly contributed to U.S. foreign policy and public diplomacy objectives in India by fostering excellence in higher education and innovation within CMC and the community it has served for the past 120 years.
A Testimonial from USAID/ASHA:
Sustainability in Action, 1994 & 2006 Water Treatment Projects
““The work of Vellore Christian Medical College (Vellore CMC), near Chennai, India, illustrates how ASHA partnerships can contribute to more sustainable institutions and communities. Clean water is a perennial need locally, as pollution has rendered river water unusable and depleted local groundwater. To address this need, Vellore CMC combined two ASHA grants, separated by more than 10 years, for an integrated water treatment system that saves 160,000 liters of water daily. A water treatment plant on the campus of its hospital, funded by ASHA in 1994, turns unusable “black water” into “gray water,’ suitable for functions like flushing toilets and watering plants. Meanwhile, a second, more advanced plant at its College of Nursing campus, funded by ASHA in 2006, turns “gray water” into clean water, fit for human consumption, although Vellore uses it only for cooling and laundry purposes. Vellore has worked with local authorities to lay pipes between the two sites, separated by nearly a half-a-mile, to allow it to cycle water seamlessly from use to re-use, developing a new model for sustainable water management in a region where innovative approaches are sorely needed.”