Laying the Foundation

The foundations of Nada India Foundation were laid through the pioneering work of its founder, Suneel Vatsyayan, who served as the Founding Director of the Delhi Police Foundation for Correction, De-Addiction and Rehabilitation (Navjyoti). There, he helped develop innovative community-based models for addiction treatment, rehabilitation, peer support, and social reintegration.

Key contributions included:

• Establishment of innovative police-community partnerships for treatment.
• Development of peer-led recovery approaches.
• Introduction of holistic medico-psycho-social-spiritual models of care.
• Expansion of services to prisons, vulnerable communities, women, children, and families.
• Recognition by NISD as a training centre for drug abuse treatment.
• Training of recovering persons as peer educators with support from UNDCP.

This period laid the foundation for the peer-led and community-centred philosophy that would later define Nada India Foundation.

Establishment of Nada India

Nada India Foundation was formally established to promote health, wellbeing, recovery, social inclusion, and community participation. The organization became the South Asian focal point for promoting the NADA Acudetox Protocol and community-based approaches to behavioural health and recovery.

Advancing Recovery & Health

During its first decade, Nada India:

• Expanded training in the NADA Acudetox Protocol.
• Supported recovery and rehabilitation initiatives across India.
• Strengthened peer-led treatment and therapeutic community models.
• Worked with healthcare professionals, correctional institutions, and social workers.
• Promoted holistic approaches integrating counselling, yoga, meditation, and community reintegration.

This phase established Nada India as a pioneer of recovery-oriented and person-centred approaches.

From Recovery to Wellbeing

Recognising the need to address the broader determinants of health, Nada India expanded its focus to include youth development, community wellbeing, health promotion, prevention of substance use, and public education.

Knowledge-sharing platforms such as the Nada India News Update, Towards Wellbeing, Acudetox India, Pehchaan Radio Club, and Youth Forum helped create spaces for learning, dialogue, storytelling, and community engagement.

Youth & Global Engagement

Nada India strengthened its commitment to meaningful youth participation.

Key milestones included:

• Youth for Wellbeing: Engaging youth as peer educators, health advocates, and ambassadors.
• Global NCD Alliance Forum (Sharjah, 2017): Youth advocate Vindhya represented youth voices, contributing to global NCD discussions.
• One Young World Summit (The Hague, 2018): Vindhya attended as a Scholar representing Nada India globally.
• Patient Advocacy: Volunteer Jyotsna Roy emerged as a global patient advocate, contributing to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and patient engagement discussions.

Policy & Public Health Advocacy

Nada India increasingly contributed to national, regional, and global policy dialogues.

Highlights include:

• WHO Engagement: Participation in consultations on NCDs, tuberculosis, UHC, alcohol policy, and health promotion.
• WHO South-East Asia Regional Committee (2018): Contribution to discussions on NCD prevention and tuberculosis.
• Global Alcohol Policy: Participation in the 69th Movendi International World Congress in Sweden and support for FCAC.
• National Advocacy: Contributions to consultations on tobacco control, alcohol harm prevention, youth health, and the SDGs.

Building Movements for Change

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, Nada India strengthened digital engagement and youth-led action.

Major achievements included:

• Nada Young India Network (NYIN): A growing youth platform promoting healthy lifestyles, tobacco control, alcohol harm prevention, and community wellbeing.
• Youth Advocacy: Thousands of young people engaged through youth clubs, universities, and civil society.
• Public Health Campaigns: Mobilization of youth voices supporting stronger tobacco control measures.

The Nada India Model

Drawing on twenty-five years of learning, Nada India articulated its community-rooted framework: Me → My Family → My Neighbourhood → My Community.

The model promotes self-awareness, family resilience, community participation, experiential learning, leadership development, civic responsibility, and collective wellbeing. Lasting change begins with individuals and grows through families, neighbourhoods, and communities.