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Prefect Health Mela 2011

Perfect Health Mela 2011 is being organised by The Heart Care Foundation of India from October 19 to October 23rd, 2011 at Laxmi Bai Nagar, New Delhi 110 023. The event is a community service programme focussing on promoting health and fitness along with entertainment and recreational activities. Perfect Health Mela 2011 - Events

Concept

The concept of the Perfect Health Mela was created by the Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) in 1993. It is annual event held every year at Delhi. On an average 3-10 lakh people visit the Mela over a period of 10 days which is open for almost 14 hours a day. In fact, BBC had declared it as a new health awareness module in the world.

Here are 100 reasons why one should participate in and visit Perfect Health Mela
1. Social cause: Organisation working towards social development highlighting the benefits of health and fitness and thereby creating awareness in the society. This year, Times Foundation has taken up the cause along with Heart Care Foundation of India.
2. Snakes and Ladders: health game on HIV/AIDS was first field tested in 1993 Mela and later has been adopted by most NGO's including NDMC in their promotions or advertisements.
3. Health awareness through animal shows: Animal shows are very popular in our country. Animals shows like bear, monkey, snake charmer show, parrot or cow future telling shows etc. were used as health awareness modules by making them wear T-shirts and clothes containing one line field tested health sutra messages on a particular subject. This has now established as a successful health awareness module.
4. Banjara shows: Jugglers, puppets, jokers, etc have been filed tested to create health awareness by way of messages written on their clothes while conducting shows.
5. School Competitions: The intra school competitions are based on a particular health theme. The competition can include rangoli, poster, slogan, cartoon, jokes, poem recitation, singing, folk dance, western dance, classical dance, mock parliament, role play, kavita, qawwali, quiz, rock music, open dance, fashion show, etc. The schools participate directly and also via directions from the state education department.
6. Health Break: "Break ke baad" is a popular term in the TV shows. It's an established mode of advertising where in between news or any serial in the TV the announcer says, "rest after a break". The concept of health break was started in various Perfect Health Melas. In this modules important stage programs are interrupted and it is announced that "rest after the health break" and during these health breaks health messages were passed on to the community.
7. Perfect spot for field-testing a message: A health message is a field-tested expert born message, released or spoken from the mouth of a person who counts. The message is short, one liner, crisp, universally accepted, reproducible, universally acceptable, easy to understand and the one, which people would like to implement in their daily life. Perfect Health Mela today has become a perfect spot for field-testing such messages.
8. The level of health awareness: Health Mela has become a perfect spot to judge the level of health awareness amongst the public. Over the years it has been noticed that the awareness level amongst the public has gone up from 30 to 70-%.
9. Message release at the Vice President’s House
10. Picnic Spot: Health Mela has become a perfect health school picnic spot. Most schools organise annual picnics and are looking for locations. Gardens have now become dry and unpopular spot for picnic. After zoo and Pragati Maidan fairs, Perfect Health Mela has become a popular place to have a school health picnic. Apart from entertainment, children can get sensitized for some degree of health fun. Family Picnic Spot Health Mela is also a perfect family picnic spot. One can devote hours & hours together at the Mela venue without getting bored. Multiple cultural programs on the stage can keep them glued together for a substantial period of time.
11. Brand Awareness: Health Mela is a perfect spot to release health messages and launch various health schemes, products, games, etc. Many film stars, politicians, dignitaries, dance exponents, etc have been visiting Mela releasing health messages and distributing awards to competition winners.
12. Free Health Check Ups: Health Mela as a concept is a unique opportunity for the general public to get their free health checkups done. Consultations, both general and specialized, ECG, echocardiography, ultrasound, blood tests including lipid profile, sugar, liver, kidney, hemogram, etc. are done free of cost. The reports are provided within the same day.
13. All systems under one roof: Health Mela as a concept is also a unique example where experts from all the pathies sit under one roof. One can explore treatment and options from various systems and can also avail joint consultations where necessary.
14. Shopping Opportunities: For shopping freaks the Perfect Health Mela is a perfect venue to bargain and shop health related consumer products. Even fashionable clothes, furniture, TV, fridge, air conditioner now are considered as health products.
15. A socio commercial opportunity: Health Mela concept is a unique opportunity for social sector groups like banks, public sector undertakings and other societies and trusts to participate not only to display and promote their products but also to contribute to social community service projects. Each public sector undertaking is required to do some community service projects as a part of their social commitment to the society.
16. Reminder about Don'ts in Health Care: Health Mela concept is also a unique module to pass on message to the public about various don'ts in daily routine. The Mela does not have shops selling paan, cigarettes, bidi, eggs, non-vegetarian food and alcohol passing clear messages that smoking is injurious to health and wherever possible one should live a vegetarian life.
17. Perfect Training Spot for Interns: The Health Mela is the right spot for various medical colleges to post their interns as a part of their PSM training. Normally, interns are posted in various dispensaries and because of lack of facilities they prefer sitting at home and only signing the register on the posting site. 140 hours of experience in the Mela is sufficient for any intern to transform from a student to a full-fledged practising doctor.
18. Community Posting of Nursing Students: It is the right venue for the nursing students to be posted at the Mela venue to get exposure about community works, counseling and learn organisational skills.
19. Community Service Experience: For those medical or other students aspiring to go and settle abroad, Health Mela as a concept is the right opportunity to volunteer help in assisting in community service projects. Such types of experiences and certificates are highly valued in the international educational market.
20. One-stop Answer to Lifestyle Disorders: Health Mela as a concept is "one stop" answer to all aspects including awareness, diagnosis and treatment counseling about all preventable lifestyle disorders.
21. Health Tambola: Health tambola was another concept launched by HCFI in one of the Melas and it has now become a very popular health awareness module. Here instead of number three the announcer says "time to get your diabetes check-up done once in three years, number three".
22. Distant Live Consultations: Health Mela was also used as the first ever-video conferencing between Delhi based patients and experts from Mumbai through video conferencing at a live question-answer session. Ever since, it has become a popular mode of creating health awareness.
23. Social health advertisement through hoardings: The Health Mela has become a unique opportunity to position hoardings for a period of time all over the city with one particular theme based health messages. For example, dengue prevention.
24. Strike the Iron while it is hot: Health Mela uses the concept of "Hit the iron when it is hot". It highlights and gives importance to health issues of concern at that particular moment. For example, talking about dengue-malaria, as it is prevalent in October - November season.
25. Spiritual Awareness: Health Mela has become a right venue to create education and awareness about spiritual medicine. Many spiritual organisations are invited to display and talk about their spiritual health awareness modules.
26. Unrecognized Systems of Medicine: Yesterday's miracles are today's sciences and today's miracles will be tomorrow's sciences. The Mela provides opportunities to those unrecognized systems of medicine to talk about their systems. The organizers make sure that the correct message goes to the public that these sciences are not scientifically validated and recognized as on today
27. The Science Behind Miracles: Health Mela is the right place to talk about science behind the miracles. The so called miracles have been used by frauds to befool villagers & public in smaller towns.
28. Practical Workshops: Health Mela is also a right place to hold practical workshops like healthy and nutritious cooking, water safety workshops, live demonstration of dengue malaria mosquitoes and live demonstration of patients live and deceased human organs.
29. Vehicular Pollution Checkups: Health Mela venue is used for providing free checking of vehicles outside the Mela venue to give importance to the fact that health of the vehicles are as important as health of human beings. Department of Transport, over years, has been providing the service to the visitors.
30. Health Games: Many health games have been field tested in various health Melas. These include playing cards, health ludo, health dart, health chess, health steps, health cricket, etc.


31. Indian cultural heritage: Health Mela has been used as a module to promote traditional yoga based Indian dances. Regular inter dancing school competitions are held to promote such a concept.
32. Youth festival: Health Mela has been used as a venue for youth festival. Every year 100s of colleges visit the Mela to have fun and frolic based cultural events full of health awareness activities called Medico Masti.
33. Photo and electronic spots: Health Mela is a unique opportunity for the electronic media, photographers and international media to capture rare but innovative health awareness based pictures, shots, insertions and softwares. These softwares can be used on multiple occasions in future.
34. Group picnics: Health Mela is the right spot for group picnics. Lions Clubs, Rotary Clubs, Media writers and health reporters, DTC, PSU, etc. have been organising their group picnics at the Mela venue.
35. Healthy Dish Competition: One of the popular concept started by the Perfect Health Mela was the concept of healthy dish competitions. In this ladies and NGOs are invited to bring one healthy dish and everyone is asked to come and talk about its health benefits. Later these dishes are pooled together as a kitty party.
36. Hospital Promotions: Health Mela is a right place for various hospitals and nursing homes to not only do social community service projects but to also launch subsidized health check-up schemes and display latest technologies introduced in the country in that particular year.
37. Social Issues: Health Mela is a right place for the State Medical Council and State Medical Associations including specialty ones to raise social issues and give public information. One of the examples being crusade against quackery menace rampant in the society.
38. Resolving Controversies: The Health Mela has been used by Associations, Pharma industry and NGOs to resolve controversies. The examples have been to spread facts about soft drink controversy, HRT controversy, painkillers controversy, etc.
39. Third Gender: The Mela has been used to create an opportunity for the third gender to know their rights and get informed about various aspects of health & diseases.
40. Issue of Homosexuality: The Health Mela has been used for years to raise awareness about homosexuality. Many such organisations have been doing the same by way of exhibition and counselling.
41. Sex Education: IN the very first Perfect Health Mela open sex education concept was field-tested and was found to be socially acceptable. The methodology used was one to one counselling, one to group discussions, and open field based exhibitions.
42. Thesis enrolment: Health Mela is a right venue for post graduate students to enrol their patients for their thesis. In fact, many students have completed their thesis by getting enough patients during these 10 days.
43. Community research: Health Mela is a perfect place for doing community based researches and collecting data representing each strata of the society.
44. Mega community service: The Health Mela is a perfect example of multiple community service projects involving multiple NGOs and private & public sectors undertaken under one roof.
45. Weaker sections of the society: Health Mela has been used as a venue for NGOs to bring children and people from weaker sections of the society or from institutions handling disabled patients.
46. Subsidized sophisticated technologies: Health Mela now has become a place for patients to get sophisticated tests and surgeries at highly subsidized rates.
47. Replication of popular TV shows: Popular TV shows are also being used in the Mela by way of role-plays. Ever since, Kaun Banega Crorepati was on the air, a role-play game "Kaun Banega Healthy Crorepati" has become very popular in the Mela.
48. Talent Search: Health Mela is a unique place for talent search. Opportunities are given to general public to perform on the stage without preparations in the form of open competitions, etc. The Mela has helped many youngsters to develop confidence in their life.
49. NGO participation: Health Mela has been used as an opportunity for various NGOs to field test and do their projects for which they can get grant from the Govt. For example, Ministry of Environment, Transport, Social Welfare and NACO have been sponsoring NGOs to do their activities at the Mela venue.
50. National Health Programmes: The Mela has been used by the Government as an opportunity for their national health programmes to invite various states to display their modules, field test them and once selected to incorporate in their module. Similarly, various NGOs can be invited to field test their health modules on a particular subject and the best can be later adopted and used as a part of the programme.
51. Themed health campaigns: Health Mela can be themed on a particular campaign. For example, 2004 has been themed as Year of Scientific Awareness, which is the slogan for Dept of Science & Technology, Govt. of India.
52. Mini Melas: Health Mela can be used to incorporate many Melas or exhibitions. For example, In 2004 Min. of Textiles has created a craft bazaar incorporating all emporiums. In 2001, Min. of Tribal Affairs created a tribal pavilion involving tribal healers from various states.
53. Health Walk: A health walk is held before the inauguration. The symbolic walk involves half to one kilometre walking with a clear message to the public not to ignore walking short distances.
54. Panchkarma: The Mela has been used as a place to give practical demonstrations about ayurveda panchkarma and provide ayurveda two person Kerala massage right at the Mela venue.
55. Traditional hoopla game: Most village based skill and chance games are used to attract people and to create awareness about any aspect of health. For example, in hoopla one can use only health food to be won.
56. Fitness shows: The Mela stage has been used to live demonstrate various fitness programmes like aerobic shows, yoga demonstrations and various forms of exercises.
57. Laughter the best exercise: The Mela has been used to create awareness about laughter. Group laughter sessions are held on a regular basis.
58. Training in first aid: Regular sessions are held where training is provided on first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation to the general public and the organized sectors like Delhi Police, DTC drivers and traffic personnel.
59. Drivers' Check-ups: The mela has been used as a place to create awareness and to provide on the spot checkups for both public, drivers and commercial drivers.
60. Blood donation: Blood donation camp is held every year, which creates awareness about blood donation and also collects blood to be given to any government based blood bank.
61. Morning yoga session: Yoga sessions are held every day in the morning reminding the public about the importance of mind-body union. Practical demonstrations are also held on meditation.
62. Astrology and Vaastu: These two branches of medicine have become very popular in the Mela. They attract a huge crowd. Awareness is created about scientific aspects of astrology.
63. Mujra and Cabaret: In Lal Qilla venue a small mujra stage was created to attract rickshaw pullers and tange wallahs. The idea was to attract a type of community which otherwise would not have participated. Health awareness was created during, before & after the show.
64. Response feature advertising: Various response features are brought out before or during the Mela in various newspapers. Most newspapers give highly subsidized schemes varying from 10:90 to 40:60 as advitorial:advertisement ratio.
65. Barter advertisements: The mela also has become an avenue for barter advertisements. Newspaper and magazine industries can be provided free stalls against barter advertising.
66. Jhoolas: Traditional mela based jhoolas are used to entertain and attract people and health messages boards are put on these jhoolas. The mini train can actually be converted into health messages promoting


67. Sales, house, income tax: The mela has been used as an opportunity for departments like sales tax, house tax and income tax to create awareness about the importance of paying taxes in time and save mental agony
68. Field advertising: Before and during the Mela elephants and camels are used to create awareness about health product, health message or as a part of health campaign. The elephant can be made to roam around the city 10 days before the Mela.
69. Movies: the mela is being used as a place to live shows popular film movies where regular breaks are added with social advertisements.
70. VIP visits: The mela is visited by VIPs, celebrities and politicians and they are requested to release messages, give photo features getting their blood pressure check-up done or blood donated or awarding certificates to the winners of the competitions and or making them visit the stalls.
71. Low cost participation: many organisations use piao as a module for creating low cost advertising and yet participate in the social event. These advertisement governed piaos provide free water to the public.
72. Bhajans and gurwani: The mela starts with sikh gurbani, regularly demonstrates namaaz on Friday afternoon and ends up with bhajan in the evenings on a daily basis promoting the concept of equality between all dharmas.
73. Gift hampers: Various companies use the stage functions as an opportunity to create brand awareness of their products through gift hampers.
74. Entry gate: Entry gate is a perfect spot for a campaign. The gate can be extended with fascia on both the sides with health theme based campaigns.
75. Pharma promotion: many pharma companies uses this as an opportunity to conduct free health check-up camps and create and promote their ethical brands. One of the pharma companies successfully launched their Attention-Hypertension campaign.
76. Low cost advertising: 10,000 pamphlets can be printed at a nominal cost of Rs. 1800/- and can be distributed to the public. Many people post their hawkers outside the mela venue and distribute these pamphlets to the people entering the mela.
77. T-shirts, caps: Mugs, glasses, T-shirts, caps, key chains with health messages have been used in these melas successfully to create awareness about a health brand or a health message.
78. Silver coins: 10 gm silver coin with health message on one side and mela logo on other side are made and used as mela memento cum gift cum honorarium given to doctors cum VIPs visiting the mela.
79. Gold medals: gold medals are distributed to people for their contribution to the society. This has been accepted as a successful module especially in the lower staff from various sections of the society participating in the event. Every medal has a mela logo and a health message.
80. Shraadh: most families in memory of one of their parents or grand parents have a tradition of offering food to disabled schools or orphanages. Off late the mela has been used by many of them for offering food to the volunteers giving their service in the mela.
81. Theme parties: the mela has been used successfully to relaunch the concept of theme parties like tea party, aloo parantha party, pakoda tea party etc.
82. Donations: many philanthropists wants to donate provided they are convinced their money is used for the right cause. Mela is an opportunity for them to donate in kind, rice, atta, daal, water, fruits, etc. for the volunteers.
83. Press interactions: the mela has been used as a right module to interact with the press on multiple occasions, both with print and electronic media and also to create media events for photo journalists incorporating celebrities.
84. Multiple personalities under one umbrella: during press conferences and during inauguration, it has been a practice to involve people from all sections of the society and involving all aspects of health like physical, mental, social, spiritual, environmental, financial and political well being.
85. No entry ticket: As there is no entry ticket people from all sections of the society can visit the mela.
86. Pledge: the mela has been used for the members of the public to pledge for eye donations, organ donations, and say no to crackers.
87. All party politicians: involving politicians from all parties on the dais gives the right message to the public. One can have the chief minister inaugurate with the leader of the opposition as the guest of honour.
88. Mass vaccinations: the mela has been used as a venue for mass vaccinations like hepatitis and for mass distribution of de-worming drug like Albendazole.
89. Today's ministers may be tomorrow's PM: Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited one of the mela, the then Leader of Opposition. Years later the only message goes is that Atal Bihari Vijapyee released health messages in Perfect Health Mela.
90. Mobile health exhibitions: it is an opportunity for mobile industry to display their toilets, vans, ambulances, vehicles at the mela venue.
91. Flower pots, an innovative way of advertising: school children and organisations can be made to visit the mela with health placards and the same can be later inserted in flower pots creating a different type of advertising. Light poles can also be used to place health kiosks using health messages. Bus back panels, bus queue shelters are other modes of field health awareness.
92. Health durbar: Based on Mughal durbars, health durbar was started as a concept on the main stage where durbaris are patients and king is a specialist on a particular disease.
93. Awards by celebrities: a celebrity gives all awards and a photo sent to the person later for record. It encourages the youngsters and works like a lifetime reminder.
94. Disney walk: the mela can be used for creating a evening Disney world like walk where all the participants can participate.
95. Mehndi, churiyaan: small roadside exhibitions are held involving mehndi, churiyaan, kathputlis, name on the rice grain, etc and they can be involved about a particular health campaign. For example, mehndi wali can talk about HIV/AIDS awareness by talking about be faithful to your partner.
96. Certificates to all: Certificates are provided to everybody who has contributed something to the mela. Apart, running trophies are given to the winners and mementoes to guests. Each can have a health message.
97. Social advertisements: are being provided either by the govt. directly or indirectly by putting a line of their participation in mela in their routine advertising campaign (print or hoarding)
98. Banners on flyovers: any banner with a social message if put on flyover near airports or railway stations normally are not objected by the local municipal corporations.
99. Caricatures: Various caricatures can be made and live performed during the mela. Examples are Mr. Condom and Shriman Dil.
100. Networking opportunity: Health Mela is a perfect opportunity for other social development organisations and NGOs to come on a common platform and advocate social causes to reach out to the masses.