Surgical oncologist R Ravi Kannan named as one of the recipients of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2023. Kannan, who hails from Chennai, won the award for “revolutionising the treatment of cancer in Assam through his people-centered and pro-poor programs”, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said.

• Kannan worked at the Cancer Institute in Chennai before he moved to Silchar in 2007 to join the Cachar Cancer Hospital.
• Under Kannan’s leadership, the hospital became a full-fledged comprehensive cancer hospital and research center, according to the award’s citation.
• He also introduced free treatment, food and lodging, ad-hoc employment for caregivers, and a home care programme as patients could not continue their treatment due to difficulty in traveling long distances and cost.
• He has also been awarded the Padma Shri for his contribution to the health sector.
• The Magsaysay Award, established in 1957, seeks to reward individuals for integrity in governance, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism in democratic societies. It is often referred to as the “Nobel Prize of Asia”.