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.
October is my favorite month of the year. It marks a changing of the seasons in both the southern and northern hemispheres that brings a sense of reflection and excitement. As such, there could not be a more appropriate month to celebrate theMaximize Life Global Cancer Awareness Campaign, an initiative that encourages people impacted by cancer to reflect on their experiences, celebrate their resiliency, and share their stories with the world.
Across our global team, cultural context shapes how we connect and show up for patients every day. From understanding stigma to honoring the role of family and community, our colleagues bring deep local insight that makes care more human and relevant. For Cultural Diversity Day, we asked regional team members who work directly with the….
We’ve already seen lots of activity around the world this spring: The first gastrointestinal stromal tumor patient meeting in Hyderabad, India; storytelling workshops where people facing cancer learn to share their experience with dignity and hope; and the Malaysia patient team takes their gathering public with a great picnic! See what else has been happening at The Max Foundation during the first part of 2016.
