An innovation by Dr Kiara Almeida, her idea of manufacturing and supplying alcohol based sanitizers is in line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Dr Kiara is a practicing dental surgeon, having her own private practice, All Smiles Multi Speciality dental clinic, in the Old Market area of Margao. She has completed her BDS and is an alumni of KLE’s VKIDS, Belgaum.
Dr Kiara goes on to add about her professional life as a dentist. “I pride myself in comforting and providing a quality tailor-made treatment plan unique to each of my patients. I believe in educating and motivating my patients, more importantly elucidating the course of treatment they will be subjected to in order to allay any concerns or misconceptions.”
She explains the role of dentistry with regards to the patients as well as the technical aspects. “Dentistry has so much to offer. We develop strong relationships with our patients, work convenient hours, and have the ability to relieve pain or bring a smile back on to their face.”
Regarding the technicalities involved she elaborates on that front too. “The technical aspect of dentistry is extremely detailed-we work in a world of millimeters. It is a blend of art, and science we have a lot more in common to surgeons than physicians because we fix problems with our hands. Dentistry is a challenge with so many opportunities to learn and grow.”
Dr Kiara goes on to elaborate on her idea of manufacturing hand sanitizers. “With the COVID-19 pandemic plaguing countries across the world, the demand for hand sanitizers is extremely high, and the supply chain has not been able to keep pace with the sudden surge in demand. The concern over a global shortage of hand sanitiser and personal protective equipment has been grabbing headlines lately. Countries worldwide have been encouraging those with the means and resources available to tap into these markets. With the supply disruption of alcohol-based hand sanitizers in Goa, I thought I could step up in this time of need.”
Dr Kiara collaborated with her husband, Adriel Sequeira, proprietor of Spirit De Goa to manufacture and supply ‘Made in Goa’ hand Sanitizers in line with the PM’s Make in India Initiative.
The response to her idea has been overwhelming and they will be ramping up production to meet the demand. Support has poured in from all quarters and a lot of queries have been pouring in with regards to availability of the product and where they can be purchased. Dr Kiara and her husband have engaged distributors across the State and anyone looking to get their hands on one of these sanitizers may just need to visit a medical store or a supermarket nearby.
The sanitizers are also available at her clinic in Margao and her patients can avail of this facility or reach her by email. She expresses her happiness and satisfaction of doing her bit in these tough times.
Dr Kiara speaks about her husband’s business and in particular his contribution to the materialization of this plan. “My husband Adriel Sequeira is the proprietor of Spirit de Goa, a distillery located in Raia. As a manufacturer of IMFL, Adriel arranged for as well as procured all the required materials, and completely took care of the blending and bottling to make sure the hand sanitizer was perfect to combat COVID-19 while gentle on your skin. Our hand sanitizer contains 70% alcohol
She explains that the use of pure alcohol by itself can dehydrate the skin, causing inflammation and irritation. These hand sanitizers have been specially crafted to provide one with the necessary moisturization and skin care while effectively eliminating any pathogen including the novel coronavirus.
Dr Kiara elaborates on the process of manufacturing the hand sanitizers. “ After a lot of research and study, we formulated our hand sanitizer based on WHO recommendations , got an approval from FDA , a license to manufacture and started testing various self made hand sanitizers on ourselves before we distributed a few to close friends and family. A lot of positive and negative reviews motivated us to come up with the best. The process of manufacturing takes place at my husband’s distillery (Spirit de Goa) in Raia. We engaged a qualified lab assistant and experienced workers for the same. Within a short span of time we managed to blend, bottle and dispatch hand sanitizers in large numbers. Our efficient sales team has made these hand sanitizers available at all supermarkets, grocery stores, and medical stores across Goa. We have also exported huge quantities to other states of India”
Regarding the roadblocks faced by her and the production team Dr Kiara states that the only hindrance was the procuring of raw material as they had to be brought in from other states of India. “Due to the lockdown, borders were sealed and transportation was a major problem. I wanted a product which was efficient and safe, bottled in an aesthetic, easy to carry and convenient flip top dispenser. We spent a lot of time uncovering various packaging options. I basically stepped up during this time of need to deliver the best for the safety of our people keeping their comfort in mind.”
Dr Kiara talks about the supply as well as her plans to support health care workers and people on the battlefront against Covid19. “We had shipped out the first few deliveries to the local hospitals and health care workers. We also handed out hand sanitizers to the various Police Stations, free of cost as a social initiative as these individuals are our frontlines warriors in this fight against the virus and their safety should be our priority.
We also delivered hand sanitizer cans free of cost to various government institutions so these can reach the most vulnerable sections of our society.”
They have supplied their product to various medical stores and other retail outlets across the state, so these are currently available to the public at large.
“Moving forward, we look to continue supporting our health care workers and police. That being said, we are also looking to ramp up production in order to be able to reach out to as many Goans as possible through a network of retail outlets across the states.”
To conclude Dr Kiara gives a few words of advice to people who want to reach out to others in times of need. “During times like these every initiative is always welcome and we can all contribute in our own little way in order to alleviate the innumerable inconveniences we as a society are facing at large. After all out of adversity comes opportunity.
Even the little things we do could have a significant impact in our fight against this invisible enemy. Hence I would advise everyone to continue to follow social distancing in public even with the relaxation in the lockdown measures. Also, personal etiquettes and hygiene be it covering your mouth while sneezing or coughing or using a hand sanitizer, shouldn’t be interventions to be followed only during pandemics, these should be incorporated in our day to day life as well.”
