Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), Mumbai, will host a first of its kind conference themed “Healthcare: A Commodity or Basic Human Need?” from January 27 to 29, 2017 to mark its Platinum Jubilee Year (2016–2017).

The conference will serve as a platform to bring together around 1000 stakeholders, including leading health economists, policy planners, heads of pharmaceutical companies, administrators, clinicians, patient advocates, epidemiologists and regulators, in the hope of evolving a suitable healthcare model that provides cost-effective solutions for the developing and developed world. The conference is co-hosted by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Tata Trusts and Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.

The three-day event will witness discussions on a wide range of topics-- Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Spending, Healthcare Finance, Quality Assurance & Quality Control of Healthcare Systems, Improving Access To Affordable Healthcare, Healthcare Systems in Selected Countries (Japan, France, Iran, Brazil, Cuba and UK), Corporate Social Responsibility and NGO's - Bridging Gaps and Reducing Inequalities, Economics of Innovation, Health Communications - Media Role and Responsibility Conference Oration: Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen conference.

The conference deliberations will be collated in an authoritative “Mumbai Declaration”, in the hope of casting beneficial influence on national and global health policy in times to come.

Elaborating on the genesis and the uniqueness of the conference, Dr. Rajendra Badwe, director, Tata Memorial Centre, explained, “In India, accessibility and affordability in healthcare are the two major challenges. This conference will provide the ideal platform for the key decision makers and stakeholders to weigh in on these issues. We need to identify universal solutions and take our cues from existing small and large-scale healthcare systems to evolve our own model for India.”

Dr. C. S. Pramesh, professor and chief, Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgical Oncology, TMC, further stressed on the urgent need for a healthcare system that takes into account the diversity and disparity in the country.

Nihal Kaviratne, founder, St Jude India ChildCare Centres, said, “Despite the many advancements we have made in health and technology, we are still faced with the harsh reality that thousands of people across the country have no access to affordable health services. It is imperative that the Government and other stakeholders come together to discuss how to address these gaps, ensure last mile delivery of healthcare and take us a step closer towards universal health coverage.”

When asked about the conference, JP Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare commented, “It is crucial for us to have the involvement and commitment of every stakeholder in the country, for India to be able to meet the WHO’s goal of universal health coverage by 2030. I believe a conference of this scale and magnitude will provide us with a unique opportunity for all stakeholders and influencers to convene and arrive at possible solutions to meet our 2030 goal.”

K “Vish”V Viswanath, professor, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, added, “We are pleased to co-host a conference of this stature on such a consequential issue along with the Tata Memorial Centre. The conference theme and the impressive speaker line-up demonstrates the urgency of addressing the burden of cancer in India. The outcome of such a conference has implications for the entire nation and will give us implementable health solutions to take us closer to universal healthcare coverage.”