Each year, The Max Foundation selects a colleague to receive our Excellence in Patient Advocacy Award, honoring a member of our global team who has done something especially remarkable that year. On December 17th, we were delighted to present this year’s Excellence in Patient Advocacy Award to Viji Venkatesh, Region Head for South Asia, for her tireless dedication to the patients she serves.
In this work, we are diligently preparing for the possibility of unexpected changes that force us to do something extraordinary for our patients.. This year, Viji found herself in just this situation, when a new government-imposed import tax threatened patients’ access to life-saving cancer treatment.
For months, Viji has tirelessly advocated with government officials on behalf of the 18,000 patients she serves in India. These patients remain at the forefront of her mind as she works to preserve access to their life-saving medicine. Viji is an example to us all in her relentless and courageous efforts on behalf of her patients. We were pleased to recognize her efforts and dedication with this award, and are grateful to have her fierce devotion to her patients as an inspiration for every member of our global team.
The Max Foundation is a leading global health nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating health equity. For 28 years, Max has pioneered practical, scalable, high-quality solutions to bring life-extending treatments and patient-centered health care to more than 100,000 people living with cancer and critical illness in low- and middle-income countries. Max believes in a world where all people can access high-impact medicines, where geography is not destiny, and where everyone can strive for health with dignity and with hope.
I have learned that the pain in the heart and soul is deep and will always be there. The ‘bucket’ has a hole, and even when you dedicate every day of your life to making sure other families don’t have to live with this pain, the bucket will never be filled. I have also learned….
In honor of International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the female clinicians worldwide who join us to bridge access to treatment for their patients.
This Thursday, 9/22, The Max Foundation and My PCR will join the global CML community in raising our collective voices in support of the needs of people living with CML worldwide. Initiated by the patient community in 2008, September 22 (9/22) has marked World CML Day because of its symbolic significance – the disease is….
