Panaji, Goa – June 2025:
Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has announced a major public health initiative — Project Parivartan — a four-year collaborative program designed to reduce hospital-acquired infections and combat the growing threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) across Goa’s government health facilities. The initiative is being implemented across 41 public hospitals and health centres in partnership with Pfizer, Americares India Foundation, Goa Medical College, and the Directorate of Health Services.
Launched on November 27, 2024, by Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Project Parivartan is a critical part of the Government of Goa’s effort to align with India’s National Action Plan and WHO’s global strategy to fight AMR. “The Government of Goa is committed to strengthening policies to combat AMR and reduce hospital-acquired infections. Project Parivartan will help drive safer healthcare practices, improving patient outcomes and public health,” Rane said.
AMR, recognized by the World Health Organization as one of the top 10 global health threats, has contributed to over 5 million deaths worldwide in 2019 alone. In India, where unregulated antibiotic usage is rampant, the threat is even more severe. A 2021 ICMR study found that AMR led to 38.1% fatal outcomes in bloodstream infections and 27.9% in urinary tract infections in ICUs across the country.
What Project Parivartan Aims to Achieve:
• Establish a robust Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) program across all government health facilities.
• Strengthen Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures.
• Conduct baseline assessments and develop surveillance systems to track antibiotic resistance trends.
• Train healthcare workers in rational antibiotic use and infection control practices.
• Improve patient outcomes, reduce antibiotic misuse, and lower healthcare costs.
The project team, comprising 19 professionals, has been onboarded and trained. Stakeholder meetings have been conducted with key health institutions including the Goa Medical College. Ethical clearances have been obtained, and baseline assessments are already underway in Directorate of Health Services facilities.
Pfizer India Managing Director Meenakshi Nevatia highlighted the company’s commitment to this cause: “Project Parivartan reflects our strong commitment to addressing global health challenges. We are proud to partner with Americares India Foundation and the Government of Goa to improve healthcare systems.”
Americares India Foundation’s Country Director, V.S. Chandrashekar, also emphasized the importance of this collaboration: “This project builds upon our long-standing work in primary healthcare and aligns perfectly with our mission of building resilient health systems.”
With AMR projected to cause up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050, Project Parivartan is a proactive step by the Goa government to prevent a public health crisis. The initiative not only aims to reduce infection-related complications and deaths but also ensures the continued effectiveness of antibiotics for future generations.
For more information on Project Parivartan, contact:
• Dr Ulhas Vasave, Americares India Foundation – uvasave@americares.org
• Dr. Maria Jose Wiseman Pinto, Goa Medical College
• Dr. Utkarsh Betodkar, Directorate of Health Services
• Roma Nair, Pfizer India – roma.nair@pfizer.com
• Tanisha Karunakaran, Weber Shandwick – tkarunakaran@webershandwick.com
