Abhay and Rani Bang

Abhay Bang and Rani Bang are Indian activists and community health researchers who work in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, India.

They have developed initiatives and programs aimed at reducing infant mortality rates. Their initiatives have been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for work carried out across India and in parts of Africa. Abhay and Rani Bang have also founded the non-profit [https://searchforhealth.ngo/who-we-are/ Society for Education, Action, and Research in Community Health (SEARCH)], which is involved in rural health service and research.

Abhay and Rani Bang won the Maharashtra Bhushan Award, and have been awarded honorary doctorates from the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences at Lucknow.

SNDT Women's University in Mumbai has also awarded a doctorate ''honoris causa'' to Rani Bang. Medical journal ''The Lancet'' described the couple as "the pioneers of healthcare in rural India." In 2016, Abhay and Rani Bang were recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. They were also inducted into the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars for their leadership in community-based health care focusing on new-borns and children. The Bangs have contributed to the development of community-based primary healthcare in India. Provided by Wikipedia