The Medicine Baba of India - Omkarnath Sharma


These days many people around the world are struggling to make ends meet. Millions have lost their jobs. Due to the rising expenses, many of these have almost exhausted their savings. With the rising number of health conditions, medicine has become a necessity in almost every home. Many of us have the will to help others in need, but very few of us act on it. At an age where many choose to retire and spend time with their loved ones, one man is on a mission to reach out and help others. Let’s read on to know the story of Omkarnath Sharma, the medicine baba of India.


Affordability of Medicines


India produces and manufactures 8 percent of the medicines available globally. We rank 13th in world medicine production by value. Medicines have become an essential factor in the lives of many. 

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Apart from the coronavirus, there are thousands of people around India suffering from various other health issues. The results of a study conducted to evaluate the cost of medicines and their affordability in the private pharmacies in Delhi, India is as follows:. 

· Medicines make up for 90 percent of health care spending by poor people.

· Sixty percent (499-649 million) of the population in India does not have regular access to essential medicines.

· High costs of medicines lead to decreased access to healthcare

· Rural India spends 77 percent of its expenditure on health on medicines

· Urban India spends around 70 percent of the same on medicines.

· India spends 1.28 percent of the country's GDP on health.

Unfortunately, the high cost of medicines makes treatment less affordable for the poor segments of the population. As per World Health Organisation (WHO), 65% of the population lacks regular access to essential medicines. 

Medical treatment is free in Indian government-funded hospitals, but drug supplies at their dispensaries run out, forcing patients to fork out for medicines at nearby chemists. However, there is one man who has made it his life’s mission to make sure that the poor segments of the society receive the medicines. 

The Medicine Baba of India - Omkarnath Sharma


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Who is Omkarnath Sharma?


Omkarnath Sharma was born in India is the 1940’s. He is an 80-year-old Delhi resident. He is a retired blood bank technician from Kailash Hospital in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He currently lives with his wife and a mentally challenged 45-year-old son in a small rented house. At the age of 12, he was crippled in an accident. Yet he walks five or six kilometers per day to collect medicines. 

“This idea struck me a few years back when I saw how the poor struggled to buy medicines. When I first started, I was ridiculed and called a beggar but now people respect what I am doing,” – Omkarnath Sharma. 

In October 2008, an under-construction flyover in East Delhi collapsed due to some mechanical failure. As a result of this, two laborers lost their lives and around 30 were injured. The local hospital provided basic first aid to the victims as they were unable to afford the cost of treatment. This was a turning point in Omkarnath’s life. He, at once, decided, took a vow to not let something like this happen again. 


Medicine Collection


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Image Source: Milaap



Omkarnath set up a mobile medicine bank for the poor and needy. Every day, he knocks on the doors of the Delhi homes to collect any excess medicines. Normally, these unused or excess medicines will land up in the trashcan. However, due to the initiative of Medicine Baba, these medicines reach those who are in dire need of it. 

“Bachi dawai daan me, na ki kudedaan me, Medicine Baba ka ek hi sapna, gareebo ka medicine bank ho apna.” (‘The Medicine Baba is here! Give me your old medicines! Don’t throw them away, they can save the lives of the poor!’) – Omkarnath Sharma 


Running a medicine bank is not easy. Yet Omkarnath selflessly dedicates his time in service of the poor without expecting anything in return. He provides the medicines to the poor free of charge. He walks 6 to 7 km every day wearing his orange kurta. His kurta displays his contact information, motto, and other information about the Medicine Bank. Since he cannot afford traveling in the Delhi Metro, Omkarji walks for miles or travels in the Delhi public bus using his senior citizen pass. 


The process of medicine collection is simple:


- Omkarnath starts from home at 6 am 

- He collects the unused or excess medicines from families by going door to door. 

- He brings these medicines back to his messy, garage-sized room located in the poor quarter of Manglapuri. 

- He carefully scrutinizes the medicines based on different factors. 

- He notes down the expiry dates and maintains proper records. 

- Certain medicines are stocked in the fridge and the rest are placed in appropriate boxes. 

- Through different NGO’s and hospitals, he reaches out to those in need of the medicine and donates the same to them. 

“All these medicines lying here are worth more than ₹ 20 lakh. I distribute medicines worth Rs. 4-5 lakhs every month," says Omkarji. 




Recognition


Though he was ridiculed at first, people now respect and support his initiative. Thanks to social media and various news articles about him, he gained popularity. With the help of some generous people, Omkarji was also able to set up Medicine Baba Trust (1240). Many people have started supporting his initiative by setting up medicine collection drives at various public places. Omkarji now receives help from few employees too. 

Here are some of the awards that Medicine Baba has received over the years:


1. Medicine Baba has been recognized by various organizations worldwide: 

2. Delhi Gaurav Award - presented by Dr. Harshvardhan (Union Cabinet Minister - Govt. of INDIA) 

3. Felicitated by Mr. Sunny Deol (Notable Film Personality), Mumbai 

4. Awarded by BAJAJ GROUP, at the launch event of INS Vikranata 

5. Felicitated by Dr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman ESSEL group on The Subhash Chandra Show (ZEE NEWS) 

6. Awarded by (Governer) Punjab along with Member of Parliament Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu 

7. Felicitated by Mr. Prakash Raj (Notable Film Personality), Delhi 

8. Felicitated by Mr. Akhil Kumar (Olympian – Boxer), Delhi 

9. Felicitated by Mr. Jarnail Singh (MLA – Tilak Nagar, Aam Aadmi Party), Delhi 

What we should learn from Medicine Baba?


1) Even though it is a free and voluntary service, Omkarji never takes his work lightly. He maintains proper records of all the medicines, their manufacturers, and their expiry dates. 

2) Age is just a number for him. He walks even to the remotest of areas to collect or distribute medicines. 

3) He isn’t afraid to ‘beg’ for a noble cause. 

4) When people ridiculed him, he didn’t stop his work. He didn’t let unnecessary opinions stop him from helping others. 

How can you contribute?


If you are someone living in Delhi, try to organize a medicine collection drive in your locality itself and forward the proceeds to Medicine Baba. Similarly, you may also contact him directly and donate any unused or excess medicines if you have in your cupboards. If you from other parts of the country or world, you may donate to his noble cause through his website


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Share his inspirational story with others.

Also Read:  Chief Theresa Kachindamoto – The Terminator of Malawi’s Child Marriages



What can we learn from the Medicine Baba - Omkarji? Share your thoughts with me in the comment section. 

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This post is a part of My Friend Alexa Season 5 with Blogchatter.

Post a Comment

43 Comments

  1. That's a great service. A noble man indeed.

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  2. Feels so nice to see that despite all the horrible things we keep hearing about, there's still a lot of good in the world. Gives a lot of hope. Thank you for letting us know about him.

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  3. You are absolutely right, 'Many of us have the will to help others in need, but very few of us act on it'

    It is heartening to know the story and background of 'Medicine Baba', at the same time his feat to reach out and help others is quite inspirational!
    Extra medicines generally go into the bin. Only a genius and altruist would think of such innovative way of helping people.
    Very informative and inspiring post!

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  4. This is a great initiative by a person to help the needy.

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  5. He is doing a great job and putting loads of efforts. Kudos to his hardwork. Thanks for letting me know about him

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  6. Hats off to Omkarnath Sharma.. He is such a noble human being Difficult to find such selfless person.. Thanks for sharing people should know about people like him who makes in believe in humanity.

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  7. Inspiring! Good to know about medicine baba. Something out of the box & selflessness. My salute to him & you for sharing the story.

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  8. That's the kind of positive posts I really wanted to read in Alexa. Such a great initiative, charity for the best of mankind. Hat's off to the man, and thank you for sharing about him.

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  9. There are so many leser known incredible stories around us. Thanks for bringing this to us

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  10. Felt so good to read about this benevolent man...it's so heartwarming to read something that is positive in today's day and age!

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  11. What an excellent initiative, and such an inspiring story!

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  12. You have posted such a heart warming post. We need people like him. Medicine baba is nothing less than a blessing.

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  13. Oh, I somewhere recollect reading about this. But your post was interesting to read again. Thanks and happy Alexa

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  14. Thank you for highlighting this unsung hero. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the Alexa campaign.

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  15. Thanks for sharing about medicine baba, more power to him and his good cause.

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  16. Loved the article, we need more such info in public domain. Unfortunately mainstream media is being lazy covering such inspiring people.

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  17. This is such a inspiring post.. loking forward to other stories..

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  18. I am so glad to know about Medicine Baba. You are also doing a great job by spreading awareness about his work through your work.

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  19. Omg!! This man is so inspirational.I already shared your blog with three people. Amazing people we have in India.Brings back my faith in humanity.Awesome post!! Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Now that's quite an inspiring story and great to see such people still exist.

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  21. Thank you so much for letting us know about him. Indeed he is doing a noble deed. #tmmreads

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  22. Good Deed Never Gets Unnoticed and you just proved the point - Chandresh

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  23. What a selfless service ! Kudos to the spirit of the dedicated soul. There is so much to learn . We think we will do a lot but we don't. His life is an example of where there is will there is a way.

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  24. Truly an inspiration. My dad is a doctor and he belives in reaching out to the poor. But this one is at a different level altogether.

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  25. He's truly inspiring! Hope I get one percent of his earnestness

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  26. Really I think medicines have become an important part of lives and knowing about the man and his service to people with ailments was indeed incredible.

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  27. This is such a great story. I feel everyone should contribute in his initiative. What an effort by you as well to show the true side of medicine baba. Thank you for sharing this great personality.

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  28. Such a pleasure knowing about Medicine Baba and his selfless deeds! People like him reserve to be recognised and applauded for their noble work. May God give him a long and healthy life.

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  29. Thats such a positive post and hats off to Omkarnath Sharma for all his work. It is indeed inspirational.

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  30. He is one man who is selflessly helping people with his kindness, Hats off to his dedication!!

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  31. truly inspirational and a selfless deeds that one needs to learn from such noble people..

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  32. Thank you for sharing such a story.Good intentions go a long way in making a change.So inspired by this story of Medicine baba

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  33. We need more such inspiring men in our country.

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  34. This is such an insightful post about omkarnath sharma, good to know about him

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  35. So nice of you for presenting these kindness snippets with the world. May lord give more power to such kind souls. Thanks again.

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  36. Such an inspirational story. Thanks to you sharing this with us. Hats off to the Gentleman.

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  37. This is a much needed post to motivate others and such stories should come in to light more and more.

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  38. Thank you everyone for your thoughtful comments on my blog post. ✨☺️🌼✨

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  39. I loved reading this post! Medicine baba is an inspiration to all of us

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  40. I really liked reading this post, Medicine Baba is such an inspiring character!
    Thank you for writing about it

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  41. May his tribe increase! Thank you for writing about him and sharing his good work.

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  42. This is such a fantastic initiative by Medicine baba omkarnath sharma. The power of crowd sourcing is right there.. all we need is a vision like him

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  43. Thats such a lovely initiative. His selfless sct is inspirational. Thanks for sharing his story and bringing us face to face with kindness.

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