ABOUT SNEHA

SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) is a Mumbai-based non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health, nutrition, and safety of women and children living in vulnerable urban informal settlements. SNEHA was founder by Dr. Armida Fernandez, Neonatologist and former Dean of one of India’s largest public hospitals. Dr. Fernandez is credited with significantly reducing neonatal mortality and morbidity at the hospital and starting the first human milk bank in Asia. Her innovations, persistence and lifelong dedication to improving health was recognized at the highest levels by a Padma Shri award in 2026 for her contribution to the field of medicine.

In 1998, Dr. Fernandez and a group of doctors, started SNEHA with a mission of improving the health, nutrition and safety of women and children living in vulnerable informal settlements of Mumbai. This was done in partnership with the communities they served and the public health systems. At the community level, SNEHA empowers women and families to become agents of change,



while simultaneously collaborating with public health and safety systems to drive sustainable improvements in health outcomes.

SNEHA’s key programs include:

• Maternal and Child Health
• Empowerment, Health and Sexuality of Adolescents
• Prevention of Violence against Women and Children
• Public System Partnership
• Palliative Care

Each year SNEHA directly reaches over 300,000 direct community participants and indirectly impacts a population of over 3.63 million across seven municipal corporations and three municipal councils in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Through the SNEHA Knowledge Center, SNEHA works in technical partnership with several NGOs and government bodies across India, to scale impact.

SNEHA has almost 500 full-time staff with deep grassroots presence and a robust track record of reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, child malnutrition, adolescent anemia, and gender-based violence -

📌 Chief Executive Officer (Mumbai)
🏢 SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action)
📍 Mumbai