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2022-03-31-accounts

Charitable Incorporated Organization Charity number: 1176271

EKAM UK

CIO Charity Report and financial statements For period 1 April 2021 - 31 March 2022

Healthy Child, Healthy Community Love All, Serve All

Mission

No child should be denied the right to appropriate lifesaving healthcare due to financial or systemic constraints

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Reference and Administration details for the period ended 31 March 2022

Charity Name EKAM UK Registered charity 1176271 number Charity’s principal 12 Azure, 463 High Road address Harrow Weald, London HA3 6ED United Kingdom Trustees Trustees who served during the period from formation and up to the date of this report were as follows: Dr Ajay Kumar Kotagiri Vaikuntanath Balasubramanian Kakarla Dr Preetham Bodanna Dr Rajani Nalluri Dr Pavan Kumar Battu Key Management Trustees as above Advisors (Technical) Dr Sailakshmi Balijepally EKAM Foundation Old No 1A, New 3, 2[nd] Street Jaya Lakshmipuram, Nungambakkam, Chennai-34, Tami Nadu Professor Monica Lakhanpaul Professor of Integrated Community Child Health Honorary Consultant Paediatrician Whittington NHS Trust Pro Vice Provost South Asia UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH

Bankers HSBC, 59-61, The Mall Stratford Centre, London, E15 1XF, United Kingdom

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Report of the trustees for the period ended 31 March 2022

The trustees of EKAM UK (the ‘charity’) present their 4th annual report and financial statements as a charitable incorporated organization (CIO) for the charity’s period ended 31 March 2022.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the charity’s constitution and the Statement of Recommended Practice – Accounting and Reporting by Charities – SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

The charity was registered with the Charity Commission as a CIO on 14 December 2017.

Objectives and activities

The trustees review the aims, objectives and activities of the charity each year. This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aim and objectives and in planning its future activities, in particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set.

Purpose and aims

The charity was established for the promotion and protection of good health for public benefit by providing financial and technical assistance and support to charities, social organisations, medical centres and non-profit organisations in UK and India who are involved/engaged in providing health care, education care and support to neonates, infants, young adults and mothers including providing food, medicines, equipment, training, research grants/facilities and knowledge sharing.

We aim to support projects primarily related to saving lives of babies, young children and young mothers, ranging from 0-19 years. We do so, by partnering with organisations who provide medical treatment and health care and by providing various types of support.

We seek out partnerships with organisations who put vulnerable babies and young children/mothers at the centre of their work, as well as responding to requests for funding that come to us via various channels (e.g., website, emails, references).

We will fund or apply for grants for both new and existing charities and organisations, small, medium, or large, provided they can demonstrate the difference they are making.

We aim to, from our interactions and references provided, develop a network with a view to connecting people through shared values. This would further provide

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opportunities for subject matter experts to share their skills and knowledge. Not only to help a particular project, but also provide a way to reduce the operational costs for organisations by sharing resources.

We also aim to partner with organisations who can provide vocational and technical training to vulnerable children post treatment to enable them to return to normalcy. To further these objectives, we aim to connect with corporates for their support via their CSR initiatives or for subsidies, to a wider donor community for financial support and with training institutes/organisations.

The charity welcomes applications for joint work with other organisations and will work in partnership with other grant-makers wherever possible.

To ensure full transparency, we aim to ensure that 100% of donations/funded grants reach the intended recipient/organisation and will pursue other channels (e.g., sponsorships, Corporate CSR, crowd funding, goodwill payments etc.) to support our administration process. We will do this by sharing resources with partners, and enlisting volunteers as much as possible.

Network / Partnerships

We will partner with organisations who share our vision that no child should be denied the right to appropriate, life-saving health care due to financial or systematic constraints. The trustees and their network will initially identify and reach out to organisations in the UK and India who have aligned objectives to identify opportunities to work together. Through an expanded network and introductions made via networking, presentations will be made to create awareness and identify projects/avenues where the charity and its partners can provide aid or assistance.

We will formalise key partnerships via a formal MOU, recognising the need for interorganisational co-operation to identify, communicate and interact with UK based institutional funding bodies, corporations, organisations, doctors and other professionals of Indian Origin introduced by our associates and partners including International Chapters, well-wishers and associates across the world.

For example, an MOU would cover:

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Policy on grant making

Applicants can apply via email, schedule on-site meetings, filled-in applications, referral organisations (hospitals, charities, social organization, foundations etc.), website etc.

Trustees will work closely with chosen organisations to prepare and present proposals to grant-making bodies and corporates for aid towards the identified projects in the UK and India

Outlook and Opportunities

UN Projects

Action Line 8 towards economic growth (by empowering support groups involved in health and social care generate surplus which provides for their sustenance as well as towards community programs:

EKAM aims to promote economic growth through the empowerment of support groups in the health and social care sector. These support groups may be able to generate surplus revenue through their operations, which can be used to sustain the group and also contribute to community programs.

This approach to economic growth is focused on supporting and empowering local organizations and communities, rather than relying on top-down, centralized efforts. By enabling these support groups to generate surplus revenue, they can become self-sustaining and potentially even expand their operations, which can contribute to the overall economic development of the community.

It is important to ensure that any support provided to these groups is done in a way that is fair and transparent, and that the surplus revenue generated is used in a responsible and accountable manner to benefit the community. It may also be helpful to establish clear goals and metrics to measure the success of the program and track its impact on economic growth.

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Action Line 3 for good health and well-being by identifying sources & providing more grants towards research & development, supply of medical equipment or enhancing primary care medical facilities:

EKAM aims to improve health outcomes by identifying and addressing key sources of health problems, and providing support for research and development, medical equipment, and primary care facilities. This approach can help to increase access to high-quality health care and support the development of effective and innovative treatments and technologies.

There are several ways that this program could be implemented, depending on the specific needs and priorities of the community or region. For example, the program could provide grants to support research and development efforts in areas such as disease prevention, treatment, and public health. It could also provide funding for the purchase of medical equipment or the enhancement of primary care facilities, such as clinics and hospitals.

It is important to ensure that any grants or funding provided through this program are used in an effective and efficient manner, and that they are targeted towards addressing the most pressing health needs in the community. It may also be helpful to establish clear goals and metrics to measure the success of the program and track its impact on health outcomes.

EKAM is focused on improving health and well-being by increasing funding for research and development, supplying medical equipment, and enhancing primary care medical facilities.

Investing in research and development can help to identify new and innovative approaches to improving health outcomes, as well as developing new treatments and therapies. Providing funding for medical equipment can help to ensure that healthcare providers have the necessary tools and resources to deliver high-quality care. Enhancing primary care medical facilities can also improve access to healthcare for individuals, particularly in underserved or remote areas.

Overall, these efforts can contribute to better health outcomes and an improved quality of life for individuals and communities. It is important to ensure that the funding provided for these initiatives is used effectively and efficiently to achieve the desired goals and outcomes. It may also be helpful to establish clear metrics to measure the success of the program and track its impact on health and well-being.

– Participation in Healthcare system Opportunities The pandemic and fast changing technological environment in healthcare system is presenting a lot of opportunities and the challenges in the following areas. It has also brought to the fore importance of Public Healthcare Support Systems including Vaccination, Digital Infrastructure, Trained resources and quick access to community volunteers.

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Challenges faced

Access to funds is the most important challenge coupled with awareness, training and building sustainable healthcare.

Health, hygiene and sanitation play a very crucial role in the disease prevention and the maintenance of toilet facilities is a big challenge in schools and hospitals.

Others

Other opportunities

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Ongoing Programs

Achievements and performance

Partnerships

We had entered a MOU with EKAM Foundation, India in 2018.The charity and EKAM Foundation share the vision that no child should be denied right to appropriate, lifesaving healthcare due to financial or systematic constraints. The MOU has been further extended till Mar 2026.

The said MOU provides for:

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Initiatives

We continue to support the following ongoing initiatives

Nurture Early for Optimal Nutrition (NEON) (The 1[st] 1000 Days)

The first 1,000 days of a child’s life are an important period for growth & cognitive development. Effective intervention in early life have potential to reduce the growth of short- & long-term conditions such as nutritional deficiencies, obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

The NEON programme is an NIHR-funded multiphase project with an aim to optimise infant feeding, care, and dental hygiene practices of South Asians (SA) infant in East London using the WHO-recommended PLA cycle. NEON comprises of the following phases, with interaction with academics, experts in PLA cycle & multilingual community-facilitators.

The Participatory Learning and Action (PLA) cycle is a low-cost bottom-up approach that mobilises communities to identify, prioritise, implement, and evaluate their needs and solutions through culturally sensitive group discussions led by community facilitators.

The NEON programme supports the EKAM vision to improve maternal and child healthcare needs in a cost efficient, community oriented and sustainable manner, and we will be providing support in engagement with community in East London, advisory role being part of the NEON steering team & providing inputs on policy making.

Update

The NEON three-arm pilot RCT study began in July 2021 and is expected to run until May 2023. The study is mainly divided into two phases – the intervention development phase (July 2021 – April 2022) and the intervention delivery phase (March 2022 – May 2023).

1[st] Phase

Members from within the community were recruited as facilitators to collaboratively work with researchers and experts to develop a culturally sensitive NEON intervention toolkit. The tool kit consists of a facilitator manual, picture cards detailing recommended and non-recommended feeding, care and dental hygiene practices with solutions to address these, healthy infant cultural recipes, community asset maps including list of resources and services supporting infant feeding, care and dental hygiene practices.

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2[nd] Phase

3 arm pilot RCT was completed and delivered in Newham and Tower Hamlets. This involved:

PLA sessions were commenced in October 22 & run till February 2023.

- Children in Homeless Accommodation Managing Pandemic Invisibility Or Non inclusive Strategies (CHAMPIONS)

Champions is a national initiative (national project) funded by Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) to study the impacts of COVID-19 on children and their families in temporary accommodation (TA) conditions experiencing homelessness & come up with recommendations. It is led by University College London alongside De Montfort University in partnership with EKAM UK, Public Health Arts & US, The Children’s Society, the British Association for Community Child Health, and others. The project is funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council and others.

Together with families and professionals, the team will co- develop a website to share knowledge about the impact of Covid-19 on the children and families and recommendations for health, education, housing services and to influence policy.

Children experiencing homelessness (especially those under age 5) are at increased risk of morbidity & mortality and at risk of health, development, emotional, behavioural, mental, and social problems due to the environment they live and the impact of moving frequently from their homes. Further, families in such a situation have difficulties accessing support services in a timely manner.

The Champions programme supports the EKAM vision to improve maternal and child healthcare needs in a cost efficient, community oriented and sustainable manner.

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EKAM will also be involved in community engagement and participation in policy writing & an active role in the steering committee.

Champions Research has been critical for providing evidence and informing the APPG call for evidence on temporary accommodation. They have recently launched a policy brief that they will share with policy makers and influences of change.

Update

The research team is working alongside families and the professionals working with them to co-develop recommendations for future support and best practices. These are grounded in research evidence in order to support families’ recovery after the pandemic and enable professionals to prepare for future health crises.

4 initial work packages were completed in September 2022 and additional projects have been funded by University College London internal funds, partner De Montfort University internal funds and the Rosetrees Trust.

Scoping Review Examination of public health projects around the world to identify effective
strategies for reaching marginalised and excluded children under 5, and for
improving their access to, and use of, early child health programmes. This
review summarises 10 years of literature from around the world on improving
access to, coverage, and use of healthcare for children in these populations.
It is due to be officially launched online on the website by the end of January
2023.
Needs Analysis The evidence-generation involved primary co-production work with children
under 5 and their families, with an additional focus on peer relationships and
young people developed later as we discovered a need during the pandemic
for including the views of this age group as well. We are planning to publish
our final Needs Analysis Report in early 2023 via an official launch online on
our website.
Feasibility Study Findings from the interviews and a survey with professionals working for the
NHS, local authorities, charities and other groups that support families
affected by homelessness with young children, via an official launch online on
our website in early 2023.
Knowledge
Exchange		 Sharing the results of the work with policymakers, local authorities and
families, and advocating for their application in policy, such as in UK child
health programmes or assistance for families in temporary accommodation to
deal with COVID-19.
This
has
been
implemented
via
our
interactive
website
at
https://www.championsproject.co.uk,which includes sections on our study
and partners, study news and dissemination nationally and internationally,
outputs from our work with our lived experiences participant panel and a public
health messaging-tailored section of the website which includes public service
worker stories in addition to participant artwork.

Ongoing The design and implement parenting support programmes for families living in temporary accommodation. This is due to be submitted to the Economic and Social Research Council in the next 6 months in collaboration with our national consortium

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of partners including De Montfort University, EKAM UK, Public Health Arts & US, The Children’s Society, the British Association for Community Child Health, and others. Our key proposed project will involve setting up a mobile health and wellbeing bus, codesigned with families and children affected by homelessness or living in temporary accommodation, in order to supplement direct support access to the most vulnerable families and children affected.

Public benefit

The trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. The public benefit of the charity’s activities is supporting and enablement of efforts in saving lives of babies, young children and mothers and these were achieved principally by the award of grants and donations.

Funds materially in deficit

There are none to report.

Risks

Due to the initial stage of the charity, the trustees have assessed the key risks to be operations and finances and are satisfied that process is in place to manage these risks as follows:

Operations

Finance

Structure, governance, and management

Financial review

The results for the charity were in line with the trustees’ expectations, as the charity’s operations are in initial stages. The charity will continue to focus on project-based funding, i.e., applying for grants or undertaking fundraising activities based on the

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projects identified and agreed with the recipient partner. Fundraising for general funds will continue to be through social networking and events.

Trustee selection & appointments

Trustees are identified from the medical community, accounting/management professionals and persons with links to the corporate community and experienced in strategy and operations, finance, fundraising, donor management, social media, communication, and campaigning.

Trustees will be responsible for the overall work of the charity, including internal administration and compliance with all laws and regulations in the UK. Trustees will meet periodically and decide on fundraising, invite proposals, evaluate proposals, arrange for fund transfer through banking channels and monitor outcomes.

Initial trustees are appointed for a term of 3 years (subject to re-appointment). New trustees are also appointed for a term of 3 years. Trustee appointments and renewed appointments are by way of resolution passed at the trustee meeting. The charity will have a minimum of 3 and maximum of 12 trustees as per its constitution.

Remuneration policy for trustees

No payments were made to trustees in the reporting period.

Investment policy

Due to the currently small size of the charity and scale of its operations, there is none to report at the time of this report.

Reserves policy

The charity does not have a reserves policy as its operations are in its early stages. The excess of income over expenditure is included within the general reserve of and is represented as balance in bank account.

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Additional Information

Objectives of the charity

To provide
financial
assistance		 •
Towards health care/medical expenses for children (0-19) and
mothers
•
For research & development
•
Towards medical equipment, equipment maintenance, lab
equipment and medical supplies in under-resourced health
care facilities
•
To support grass root level projects that encompass suitable
community level interventions that would benefit the holistic
well-being of the community
•
Towards the training of medical and non-medical personnel
engaged/to be engaged inpursuit of the charity’s objectives
To provide
technical
assistance		 •
For exchange visits of doctors, nurses and other personnel
from the UK to India/other countries and vice versa for
research, training and support
•
To develop/participate in local service projects relating to
health care/development
•
To provide online/teleconferencing support to aid diagnosis
and provide adequate clinical pathway in needy areas
•
To contribute to the use of technology in data management
and consolidation of anyresearch/field level health data
To provide
information/training		 •
For public lectures and awareness programs within different
communities and organisations
•
To develop and support awareness through education and
preventive program
•
For intervention programs to address specific medical related
issues in the community (e.g. children with acute malnutrition)
•
To conduct seminars and medical conferences to impart
knowledge and information on reforms in Maternal & Child
Health (MCH) and related practices across the globe
To provide
administrative
support		 •
To provide administration support and management strategy
for charities/social organisations of a similar nature

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EKAM UK – Charity Number - 1176271

Statement of Financial Activities – For the period 1 April 2021 31 March 2022

Note Unrestricted
Funds		 Restricted
Funds		 Endowment
Funds		 Total Funds
P/E 31 Mar
22		 Total Funds
Prior Period
GBP £ GBP £ GBP £ GBP £ GBP £
Income & Expenditure
Receipts
Donations for
current period		 1 2,717 - - 2,717 10,782
Total Income 2,717 - - 2,717 10,782
Payments
Donations made 200 - - 200 3400
Fees & other
expenses		 337 - - 337 192
Total Payments 537 - - 537 3,592
Excess of Receipts
over Expenditure
transferred to
Reserve		 2,180 - - 2,180 7,190
Statement of Assets and Liabilities as at 31 March 2022
Current Assets
Bank Account 2 12,339 - - 12,339 10,159
Funds with Partner
Organisation		 3 23,837 - - 23,837 -
Total Assets 36,176 36,176 10,159
Liabilities
Deferred Income 4 23,837 - - 23,837 -
Total Assets less
Liabilities
(Net Assets)		 12,339 - - 12,339 10,159
Funds
Represented by
General Reserve		 5 12,339 - - 12,339 10,159

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Notes to Financial Statements

1. Donations received

This represents donations received from individuals and corporates and recognized as income for the period.

2. Advances to Partner Organization

Amount represents the advances made for projects that will be implemented by EKAM Foundation, our partner organization in India during the 1 April 2022 – 31 December 2023. Individual proposals will be reviewed and approved by EKAM UK before execution.

3. Bank Account

Amount represents the balance in HSBC UK account in name of EKAM UK.

4. Deferred Income

Refer to Note 2 above. This will be recognised as income in the period in which the project is completed or when the performance-related conditions are met. Ongoing & completed projects will be reviewed by Trustees.

5. General Reserve

Opening balance at beginning of year
Excess of receipts over payments during
the year
Closing balance at end of the year		 Y/E March 22
GBP £
10,159
2,180
12,339		 Y/E March 21 Y/E March 21
GBP £
2,969
7,190
10,159

Declaration by Trustees

The trustees declare that they have approved the above trustees’ report.

1. Vaikuntanath Balasubramanian Kakarla

  1. Rajani Nalluri

  2. Pavan Kumar Battu

  3. Preetham Boddana

  4. Ajay Kumar Kotagiri

Date: 30 January 2023

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