Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Published : January 21, 2017 11:17 AM IST
(L to R): Dr CS Pramesh, Professor and Chief, Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, TMC; Dr Rajendra Badwe, Director, TMC; Mr Nihal Kaviratne, Founder, St Jude India ChildCare Centers; Dr. Sudeep Gupta, Deputy Director, ACTREC/ TMC. Dr Badwe addressing the press briefing organized for the upcoming Tata Memorial Center’s Platinum Jubilee Conference themed ‘Healthcare: A Commodity Or Basic Human Need?’.
In honour of its platinum jubilee year (2016 2017), Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, will host a first of its kind conference themed Healthcare: A Commodity or Basic Human Need? from January 27 to 29, 2017. The conference will serve as a platform to bring together a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including leading health economists, policy planners, heads of pharmaceutical companies, administrators, clinicians, patient advocates, epidemiologists and regulators, in the hope of evolving a suitable healthcare model that provides cost-effective solutions for the developing and developed world. The conference is co-hosted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Tata Trusts and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
Addressing the media at a pre-event briefing, Dr Sudeep Gupta, Deputy Director, ACTREC, TMC, outlined the agenda of the conference and what the media could look forward to, over the three days. Further elaborating on the genesis and the uniqueness of the conference, Dr Rajendra Badwe, Director, Tata Memorial Centre, explained, In India, accessibility and affordability in healthcare are the two major challenges. This conference will provide the ideal platform for the key decision makers and stakeholders to weigh in on these issues. We need to identify universal solutions and take our cues from existing small and large-scale healthcare systems to evolve our own model for India. Dr CS Pramesh, Professor and Chief, Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, TMC, further stressed on the urgent need for a healthcare system that takes into account the diversity and disparity in the country. Nihal Kaviratne, Founder, St Jude India ChildCare Centres, said, Despite the many advancements we have made in health and technology, we are still faced with the harsh reality that thousands of people across the country have no access to affordable health services. It is imperative that the Government and other stakeholders come together to discuss how to address these gaps, ensure last mile delivery of healthcare and take us a step closer towards universal health coverage.
When asked about the conference, Shri JP Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare commented, It is crucial for us to have the involvement and commitment of every stakeholder in the country, for India to be able to meet the WHO s goal of universal health coverage by 2030. I believe a conference of this scale and magnitude will provide us with a unique opportunity for all stakeholders and influencers to convene and arrive at possible solutions to meet our 2030 goal.
K Vish Viswanath, Professor, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, added, We are pleased to co-host a conference of this stature on such a consequential issue along with the Tata Memorial Centre. The conference theme and the impressive speaker line-up demonstrate the urgency of addressing the burden of cancer in India. The outcome of such a conference has implications for the entire nation and will give us implementable health solutions to take us closer to universal healthcare coverage.
The conference deliberations will be collated in an authoritative Mumbai Declaration , in the hope of casting beneficial influence on national and global health policy in times to come.
Tata Trusts has been a part of the 75 years old journey of The Tata Memorial Centre, a world-class comprehensive centre for cancer research and treatment and a landmark on the global health map. Together, the two organisations endeavor to bring international best practices and innovative solutions that will ensure quality, affordable healthcare is accessible to every citizen in the country.
About Tata Memorial Centre
Tata Memorial Centre is the premier cancer care facility in India which has been at the forefront in the fight against cancer since the past 75 years. The mandate and objective of the centre is to provide comprehensive care in the field of cancer which includes Education, Awareness, Prevention, Treatment, Rehabilitation and Palliation etc. Approximately 200 new cases everyday come from all over India and also from outside the country. Tata Memorial Hospital is a Grant in Aid Institution under the Dept. of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India and it treats 60% of the cancer patients almost free of charge.
Press release
