Ravi Kannan R is a surgical oncologist from Assam, India. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Cachar Cancer Hospital...
Digital Desk: Dr. Ravi Kannan has been designated the prestigious recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay honour Foundation's 'Hero For Holistic Healthcare' honour, a source of great pride for the people of Barak Valley in Assam.
He is the only Indian awardee this year, a monument to his extraordinary contributions to healthcare in India and beyond.
Miriam Coronel-Ferrer of Philippines for (Women in Peace-Building Pioneer), Eugenio Lemos of Timor-Leste for (Food Sovereignty Visionary) and Korvi Rakshand of Bangladesh, for (Emergent Leadership) are the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees.
The Ramon Magsaysay Award, widely regarded as Asia's greatest distinction, recognises extraordinary individuals and groups that have ushered in dramatic advances in human advancement. Dr Ravi Kannan has received this prestigious award for his commitment to holistic healthcare, notably in the difficult field of cancer care.
The award centres around Dr. Kannan's pioneering contribution to cancer care in India's North Eastern Region (NER). The NER faced huge obstacles in combating cancer, a disease with a high death rate and substantial emotional and financial costs for patients and their families due to its remoteness and poor medical access.
While the region's first cancer hospital opened in 1981, a non-profit organisation founded the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in 1996. Dr. Ravi Kannan's groundbreaking leadership, on the other hand, pushed CCHRC into a full-service cancer centre. Dr. Kannan, who became hospital director in 2007, provided innovative strategies and a compassionate vision that significantly improved the hospital's capabilities.
Under his direction, CCHRC has grown into a comprehensive centre with twenty-eight departments covering critical subjects such as cancer, pathology, radiology, and palliative care. The hospital's workforce rose from 23 to 451, a testament to Dr. Kannan's capacity to inspire and lead.
Dr. Kannan's sharp insight led to the discovery that having access to cutting-edge facilities was simply the first step. He established pro-poor programmes such as free treatment, housing, and a homecare programme to address issues such as patient noncompliance due to variables such as distance, cost, and despair. These approaches raised patient compliance from 28% to 70%, allowing the hospital to provide free or subsidised cancer care to hundreds of new patients each year.
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