Guwahati: BBCI chosen as WHO network hospital for child cancer services

GUWAHATI: The World Health Organization (WHO), on the recommendations of the Union ministry of health and family welfare, has selected Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), Guwahati, for its South-East Asia Regional Practice Network for childhood cancer services.
The three other Indian medical institutions to be included in the network are Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru and Lady Hardinge Medical College in New Delhi.Three centers from Indonesia, one each from Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Myanmar are part of this network hospital in South East Asia.
“In yet another significant milestone, WHO, on the recommendation of the ministry of health and family welfare, Government of India, has selected BBCI for its South-East Asia Regional Practice Network for childhood cancer services, which is termed as implementing CURE ALL approach,” said a BBCI spokesperson.
The WHO global initiative on childhood cancer was launched in September, 2018 and the aim is to increase the survival rate among children in the age group of 0-19 years with cancer to at least 60% by 2030.
“Children with cancers in low and middle-income countries are four times more likely to die than children in high-income countries. Capacity for childhood cancer response is also weak in most countries in the South East Asian Region (SEAR),” he added.
‘400+ children treated at BBCI a year’
Dr Munlima Hazarika, professor of pediatric oncology, said in addition to policy neglect, the reasons for low survival include poor capacity of health systems to diagnose, abandoning treatment due to high costs, lack of facilities and skills of specialized training of healthcare providers.
Director of BBCI Dr Amal Chandra Kataki informed that more than 400 childhood cancer patients are treated in the hospital every year. After establishment of St Jude India Child Care Centre at BBCI in 2019, free treatment of childhood cancer patients under Aparjeeya scheme of Assam Gas Company Limited, Atal Amrit Abhiyan and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) scheme are being offered to childhood cancer patients and their families.
“In association with Jiv Daya Foundation of USA, BBCI has dedicated staff for pediatric nutrition, infection control and medical social counselors. Numaligarh Refinery under its Corporate Social Responsibility Scheme has donated Rs 2 crore for upgradation of infrastructure facilities at the pediatric oncology division of the institute. For the first time, a two-year post graduate fellowship in paediatric oncology has been started from the academic session 2020,” said Dr Kataki.