StratGurus, a Dubai based global firm specialising in business strategy for diverse industries and Grammy award winner, Tanvi Shah, signed a MOU yesterday to collaborate in a campaign that seeks to increase awareness of human trafficking and illegal organ harvesting with the objective of eradicating it.
The MOU involves StratGurus and Tanvi Shah in the production of a music video which will be used as the opening track for a commercial film themed around incidents of human trafficking and illegal organ harvesting.
The name of the theme song is ‘Humans : Not for Sale’. Dr. Tabassum Khan, Chairman of the StratGurus Group of companies and Tanvi Shah have been involved in the lyrics of the song which will be sung by Tanvi Shah.
The film entitled 24 Hours will begin production in 2019. The music video will be released before the film.
It will be shot partly in Dubai. The film will be shot in Dubai, Pakistan and London.
Dr. Tabassum Khan says,” Apart from singing and performing in the music video, Ms. Shah will be StratGurus face for their awareness campaign for illegal organ harvesting. We will promote the music video initially in South Asia, one of the regions most impacted by the scourge of human trafficking and illegal organ harvesting and then take it to a global level.”
“StratGurus takes pride in its role as a catalyst for positive change, not just through our business activities but also by engaging the communities we live and work in. We have other initiatives featured online. This campaign is launched in Dubai, a hub of many ethnic groups that are affected by the evil of human trafficking and illegal organ harvesting. Trafficking sex and/or labour are commonly considered as human trafficking while organ trafficking is less discussed. It is, however, a lucrative global illicit trade that leaves vulnerable population of donors open to severe exploitation while recipients from the first world suffer a lifetime of health consequences,” he added.
Tanvi Shah says” I am excited to be a part of this campaign. While I have contributed to many causes, this one stands out. Human trafficking and illegal organ harvesting is an international crime that is exploitative and transcends borders in the harm it causes. I have a personal interest in raising awareness of the cause as it largely affects people from the Sub-continent.’
The campaign is a collaboration. StratGurus will be promoting the cause along with Tanvi Shah by using all available offline and online media.
The movie being produced is for entertainment, but the story revolves around the cause of human trafficking for organ trade and will communicate a strong takeaway message against the issue.
In addition, seminars, and awareness campaigns will be organised via social media and other channels.
About Human Trafficking and Illegal Organ Donation: Global Financial Integrity (GFI) estimates that 10 percent of all organ transplants including lungs, heart and liver, are done via trafficked organs.
The most prominent organs that are traded illicitly are kidneys, with the World Health Organization (WHO) estimating that 10,000 kidneys are traded on the black market worldwide annually, or more than one every hour.
Average wait times for organs in developed countries are high. Wait time for a kidney ranges from 4 to 7 years in Canada, 3.6 years in the US and 2 to 3 years or longer in the UK.
The low supply and high demand lead to exploitation of vulnerable populations by traffickers and also of recipients as the donors are often not medically screened.
