"We are happy and proud to help people understand the importance and promotion of personal health, even in the most remote locations and among the poorest in the country." 

Five months after the launch of this program, the Philippine government recognized the importance of personal health management. The Ministry of Health set up a project to provide 126,000 digital blood pressure monitors at 44,000 barangay health care facilities. This was exactly what Janis wanted for the people. "It was a major turning point for the Philippines", Janis says.

Despite tight deadlines and requirements set forth by the Philippine government, the team achieved a 35% penetration rate on the blood pressure monitor in a single year. The Vietnam factory of OMRON Healthcare made this possible by adjusting their manufacturing processes, and accomplished the task in less than half the conventional time period required.

Janis spoke with enthusiasm, "Anything is possible. Our dedication to the barangay health project rose out of our hopes to make a significant contribution to society.

We are happy and proud to help people understand the importance and promotion of personal health, even in the most remote locations and among the poorest in the country.

And more importantly, we are proud of ourselves and our profound teamwork which overcame national and organizational borders and challenges to fulfill social needs."

India is facing a huge issue as obesity, diabetes and hypertension is spreading. Hence, OMRON Healthcare India is pursuing to improve the situation.

Life-threatening lifestyle diseases are now spreading beyond developed countries. As with the westernized diet in the Philippines, diseases such as hypertension, obesity, and diabetes are rapidly increasing in India, a country experiencing significant IT-driven economic growth and consumer spending.

The disparity of wealth in India is extreme. Very few people have health and medical equipment at home due to a lack of health awareness especially in regions outside the cities.

Also, there is currently a major shortage of medical institutions. And to make situations worse, people have to visit the hospital and pay out of their own pockets for a checkup and blood pressure reading.

Many hospitals in India still use traditional mercury-based blood pressure monitors that are banned in many countries. Due to its highly toxic nature, handling requires extensive knowledge and skill as well as extreme caution. Therefore, they can only be handled by doctors or qualified nurses which adds to its inconvenience.

In hopes of improving the current situation, OMRON Healthcare India holds seminars led by medical professionals and educates doctors on digital blood pressure monitors, its proper usage. It also provides advice on providing comprehensive details to help people understand how regular blood pressure monitoring at home helps prevent serious illnesses.

OMRON Healthcare stays close to local communities with the people's health and lives in mind.

Hospitals which have adopted digital blood pressure monitors saw drastic improvements in patient turnover. Since anyone can easily use the device without special knowledge or skills, nurses can measure blood pressure while their patients wait, thus reducing the time patients spend at the hospital. As a result, the solution is expected to resolve the severe lack of medical institutions experienced in India.

OMRON Healthcare India offers free blood pressure and BMI (obesity) measurement sessions at parks or shopping malls in major cities and sometimes at a corporate office per request as a vehicle to spread the knowledge and importance of home healthcare, lifestyle illness prevention and remedy.

In areas where medical institutions are scarce, it is fairly common to see hundreds of people waiting in line to take advantage of the opportunity to learn about their own health.

The desire "to live a long and healthy life" has always resided in people throughout history regardless of location. The most important element in making that a reality is to objectively understand one's own physical conditions on a daily basis and make the best choices in the interest of maintaining or improving health. OMRON's quest for optimal health continues.