Shillong, Dec 14: Agreement for the First Cancer Care was signed today between Government of Meghalaya and Apollo Telehealth Foundation.
Speaking during the occasion, Chief Minister, Conrad K Sangma said healthcare is something that the State has been facing as a challenge. “It starts from simple thing like a child’s health, a mother’s health , the nutrition of the child and a disease like cancer which incidentally is also very high in the State,” he said.
“There are numerous challenges in this sector and we have set out on a war footing to address those challenges and the effort is not just from the Health Department but a concerted effort by the government to ensure that Health is given priority,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that the project which is the first in the country is not only important for Meghalaya but it could be a model for the country to follow and replicate. “With the involvement of partners like World Economic Forum and Apollo healthcare, this will prove to be path breaking not only in Meghalaya where Cancer is high but also for the rest of the country,” he said. He further urged all stakeholders in the project to keep the larger goal of saving lives in mind.
“The motivation and guiding principle should be that every single individual afflicted with cancer can be saved by early diagnosis and giving the right treatment,” he concluded.
The vision of the cancer care projects is to improve the quality of cancer care in all dimensions by harnessing emerging technologies. There would be screening of cancer at the health and wellness centers and a follow up of susceptive and confirmed cases. ASHAs to senior health staff will be given training for skilling. Screening diagnosis and treatment will be carried out at NCD clinics with a Pathology Lab at Civil Hospital Shillong. The pilot district under the project is East Khasi Hills.
