Assam Cancer Care Foundation: How Ratan Tata Touched Lives Of Millions In Rural Assam

Ratan Tata touched the lives of the poor in Assam through the Assam Cancer Care Foundation which took cancer detection and treatment to people's doorsteps.

Guwahati:The passing away of Ratan Tata surely marks the end of an era. While the whole country mourned the death of this philanthropist, known for his own aura of grace, humility and compassion, the people in the remotest corner of Assam had lost one of their greatest sympathisers.

While Tata's contribution can be amply seen in diverse fields in Assam, it was the initiative of the late Ratan Tata, which led to the establishment of the Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), an organisation, that has revolutionised cancer care and treatment in Assam.

It may be recalled that the Government of Assam and Tata Trusts set up the ACCF in 2017 to create a first-of-its-kind grid to address the cancer care burden in Assam.

"ACCF is the largest cancer care initiative in the world in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. A total of 17 cancer hospitals are going to be set up in different districts of Assam under the ACCF. Nine of the 17 have already been completed and are in operation while eight others are being constructed in other locations, which will be completed by 2026. The basic idea is to ensure that no patient travels more than three kms from home for cancer treatment," said Gautam Chintey, Project Director of the Assam Cancer Care Foundation.

"ACCF is the largest cancer care initiative in the world in public-private partnership (PPP) mode. A total of 17 cancer hospitals were set up in different districts of Assam under the ACCF. The basic idea is to ensure that no patient travels more than three kms from home for cancer treatment," said Dr Gautam Chintey, Project Director of the Assam Cancer Care Foundation.

"The ACCF, which was initiated by Ratan Tata himself, also ensured that world-class technology is available in all the 17 cancer care hospitals under the ACCF. Nowhere in the world, such an initiative was available. All the centres are equipped with state-of-the-art technology. This means that whatever technology is available in a cancer hospital in New York is also available at any cancer care hospitals under ACCF in Assam," he said adding that this has revolutionised the cancer care and treatment in Assam.

It may be mentioned that prior to the establishment of ACCF, in Assam there was just one apex hospital that used to handle the cancer patient’s journey end-to-end. The people had to travel to the apex hospital, which used to increase out-of-pocket expenses.

Chintey said that the Tata Trust has funded the Assam government with Rs 1,180 crore for the ACCF, which is also the largest Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) contribution made by any corporate sector in the country till date.

It may be recalled that Assam and northeastern states have the highest incidence rate of cancer in the country. The incidence rate of cancer in Assam is 114 cancer patients per lakh population, which is higher than the national average of 97 cancer patients per lakh population. Other northeastern states also have higher incidence rates compared to the national average--in Mizoram it is 190 cancer patients per lakh population while in Meghalaya it is 160 cancer patients per lakh population--the ACCF has revolutionised cancer treatment in Assam as it has taken the treatment to peoples' home, which was not available prior to ACCF," Chintey said.

Giving further data about the cancer prevalence in the northeast, Chintey said that while Papum Pare district in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest cancer incidence rate among women, it is the Aizwal district in Mizoram has the highest cancer incidence rate among men.

The ACCF also put in efforts to develop trained human resources, awareness and prevention programmes, and a unified technology platform to deliver high-quality care. Additionally, a state-of-the-art cancer research centre is being set up in Guwahati to focus on regional cancer types.