Pfizer’s support to Tata Trusts Cancer Care Programme helps enroll and screen close to 70,000 people for NCDs and Cancer within a year

Press Release

• 22-02-2022

• Health and Wellness NCD screening kiosks set up in 4 hospitals
• Virtual Patient Helpdesk engages with over 50,000 patients
• Over 5000 General Practitioners and ASHA workers trained in early detection and palliative care services
• Patient tracking and referral app launched

Guwahati, 21 February 2022: Pfizer today announced that its support to Tata Trusts Cancer Care programme since 2020 has helped in enrolling and screening 70,000 people for non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and Cancer across Assam, Jharkhand and Andhra Pradesh. Pfizer partnered with Tata Trusts’ Special Purpose Vehicle, Alamelu Charitable Foundation (ACF) for their Cancer Care Programme to help set up health and wellness kiosks, facilitate community screening and a virtual patient helpdesk, and assist in training of ASHA and Anganwadi workers in Diphu and Silchar in Assam and, additionally, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, and Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.

Assam has one of the highest rates of new cancer cases in India. The objective of the partnership is to help bring down the high burden of cancer by raising awareness, aiding in early detection of cancer, and, through several programmes, serving the public, patients and caregivers support through the cancer treatment journey.

Commenting on the achievements of the program so far, Mr. S Sridhar, Managing Director, Pfizer Limited, “Innovative and life-saving therapies are the foundation of modern cancer care, and yet, care must begin from reducing exposure to modifiable risk factors, large scale screening to help early detection and diagnosis, and supporting patients through their journey. Our partnership with the Tata Trusts Cancer Care Programme has helped us truly support patients from early detection, through the care continuum, to help ensure that their treatment outcomes are the best possible. We are proud of the outcomes we have achieved in the first year and look forward to expanding this program within Assam; to other cities in the North East; and to the rest of India.”

Dr. Sanjiv Chopra, Chief Executive, Cancer Care Programme, Tata Trusts, said, “The Cancer Care Programme of Tata Trusts envisages interventions across the continuum of care including outreach, technology, financial assistance and a host of other thoughtful and strategic initiatives. Our partnership with Pfizer has been helping us to deliver the care and support that is needed to help reduce the burden of cancer in select states. Through our collaborative efforts, we hope to continue improving the lives of many.”

The partnership initiatives underway in Diphu and Silchar in Assam, Ranchi in Jharkhand, and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, comprise the following initiatives: 

• Health and Wellness Kiosks:  Pfizer supports kiosks at Diphu Medical College & Hospital and Silchar Medical College, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi and Area Hospital, Chandragiri, Chittoor. The kiosks work towards raising awareness on how patients can reduce the risk of cancer and other lifestyle-related disorders. They screen for oral, cervical, and breast cancer. Counselling sessions are also arranged to help people quit smoking. This counselling is of particular importance in India as tobacco use is associated with one third of all cancers in the country.
• Virtual patient helpdesks: These have been set up at the State Cancer Institute (SCI) in Assam, Sri Venkateswara Institute of Cancer Care and Advanced Research (SVICCAR), in Tirupati and at the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), in Ranchi, Jharkhand, to help patients with non-medical assistance such as psycho-social support, financial counseling and registration support for virtual appointments. The virtual helpdesks are complemented by an on-site trained patient navigator.
• Community Outreach: Screening and early detection camps for non-communicable diseases are carried out in association with state National Health Mission in Assam, Ranchi, and Tirupati.  Training is conducted for General Practitioners (GPs) and Health Care Partners to identify cancer symptoms and administer palliative care wherever warranted. Training is conducted for ASHAs and Anganwadi workers on cancer prevention, lifestyle modification, and screening for cancer and other non-communicable diseases.
• Patient referral and tracking platform: This is a digital application that is used to track and capture demographic and screening related information.

About Pfizer: Breakthroughs That Change Patients’ Lives

At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development, and manufacture of health care products, including innovative medicines and vaccines. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments, and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments, and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 170 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. 

About Tata Trusts

Since inception in 1892, Tata Trusts, India’s oldest philanthropic organisation, has played a pioneering role in bringing about an enduring difference in the lives of the communities it serves. Guided by the principles and the vision of proactive philanthropy of the Founder, Jamsetji Tata, the Trusts’ purpose is to catalyse development in the areas of health, nutrition, education, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihood, digital transformation, migration and urban habitat, social justice and inclusion, environment and energy, skill development, sports, and arts and culture. The Trusts’ programmes, achieved through direct implementation, partnerships and grant making, are marked by innovations, relevant to the country.

About ACF

With a vision to transform Cancer Care in India, Tata Trusts in 2017 established, Alamelu Charitable Foundation (ACF), a Section 8, Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The primary focus of ACF is to implement the ambitious Cancer Care Programme of Tata Trusts; ensuring affordable, high-quality healthcare to millions of Indians, closer to their homes.

An innovative 'Distributed Model of Cancer Care,' comprising of four pillars of 1. Enhanced access with a focus on infrastructure development 2. Awareness, early detection and palliative care for cancer, 3. Uniform high quality care made possible by enabling technology and 4. Affordable care has been developed to deliver comprehensive care.

Work is on in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Odisha.

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