C/Can has reached agreement with India’s Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) to collaborate on improving access to quality cancer care in C/Can cities in Africa and Asia, primarily through knowledge and expertise transfer and by establishing joint projects between the Mumbai-based hospital and public and private institutions in C/Can cities.
“This collaborative agreement is based on C/Can’s experience that during the initial phase of joining the network and carrying out a needs assessment process, among the main obstacles identified to providing quality cancer care are the lack of a multidisciplinary approach and the absence of clinical management guidelines adapted to the local situation,” explains Susan Henshall, C/Can CEO.
CS Pramesh, the Director of Tata Memorial Hospital, says that as part of the collaboration agreement with TMH, local specialists in C/Can cities will receive training in Mumbai on areas of cancer care, delivered within a ‘train-the-trainers’ framework.
“Direct contact between local specialists in C/Can’s African and Asian cities and TMH specialists will also be provided, while TMH specialists will join e-learning platforms and/or visit C/Can cities in those regions to train local specialists on priority areas of cancer care,” he outlines.
The city of Kigali (Rwanda), Kumasi (Ghana) and Yangon (Myanmar) have already conducted a comprehensive assessment of cancer care capacity and needs involving nearly 200 health professionals in all specialities and over 15 health institutions from both the public and private sectors. Following these needs assessments, these cities have identified and agreed on the main challenges in accessing quality and equitable cancer care in the city.
New members of the C/Can network in Africa and Asia, such as Greater Petaling, in Malaysia, which joined in September 2019, will benefit from the agreement with TMH as they progress with their needs assessment.
Tata Memorial Hospital is the pioneer cancer hospital in India, and its focus on providing quality cancer care to patients through evidence based management protocols work has been recognized internationally. The hospital is also involved in human resource development for cancer care, conducting relevant cancer research and shaping cancer policy for the country.
