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Working towards a responsive healthcare system based on the needs of patients, families and communities

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Our health interventions focus on:

01
Access to
Palliative Care
02
Primary
Healthcare Systems
03
Other
Medical Support

These initiatives focus on addressing local healthcare needs, particularly for children, women, and the elderly.

Access to Palliative Care

Palliative care focuses on improving the quality of life of individuals living with serious illnesses by addressing pain, distressing symptoms, and psychosocial needs of patients and their families. In India, access to such care remains limited, with only about 4% of those in need currently receiving palliative care support. Cipla supports the expansion of palliative care through its CSR initiatives by focusing on capacity building of healthcare providers and forging strategic partnerships with healthcare institutions and communities across the country.

1 Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre

Creating access to Palliative Care

Established in 1997 in Pune, the Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre ("CPC") is one of India's earliest dedicated palliative care centres. CPC was set up to provide free and holistic care to patients living with life-limiting illnesses, especially cancer. At a time when palliative care was still emerging in India, CPC helped to shape a care model that looks beyond disease treatment to address the broader needs of patients and their families.

CPC follows a Family Care Model that recognises how serious illness affects the whole family. It supports both patients and caregivers through pain and symptom management, emotional support, spiritual care, counselling, and help during bereavement. Delivered by a trained multidisciplinary team, care at CPC is continuous, personalised, and responsive to family needs.

The 49-bed facility at CPC offers comprehensive inpatient services, complemented by outreach initiatives such as home-based care and hospital partnerships through NGO collaborations.

In FY 2025-26, Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre supported:

1,000+

Unique Patient
Admissions

1,900+

Outpatient
Consultations

13,500+

Home visits to over 1,300
patients through NGO
partnerships in Pune

2 Highlights of Cipla's Palliative Care Intervention FY 2025-26

Our work at the CPC has inspired us to support quality palliative care services across the country. We continue to partner with governmental, nongovernmental and community-based organisations to provide direct palliative care services to patients and increase awareness about palliative care.

Note: The map used above, serves solely as a general illustration and should not be interpreted as indicative of political boundaries and not to be used for reference purposes.

2A. Integrating Palliative Care into Public Healthcare Systems

We work closely with governments and public institutions to strengthen palliative care services within existing health infrastructure. This includes supporting training of healthcare professionals, strengthening human resources, and enabling multidisciplinary care.

Cipla Foundation serves as the technical lead and, in partnership with Aga Khan Health Services ("AKHS"), supports the Government of Maharashtra in rolling out the Maharashtra State Palliative Care Programme. The programme aims to operationalise palliative care at the district level across the state.

2B. Palliative Care Partners Meet 2025

The theme of the second Palliative Care Partners Meet was ‘Empathy, Equity and Excellence – Strengthening Palliative Care through Partnerships.’ The meeting provided a platform to review progress since the previous year, share learnings, and jointly plan the future of palliative care in India for the next three years.


Key priorities under the three-year roadmap include:

2C. Palliative Care Beyond Cancer

We believe palliative care should be inclusive and accessible to all, not limited to cancer alone. We recognise that people living with heart diseases, COPD, kidney disorders, and Alzheimer's disease also need ongoing support to manage pain, symptoms, and quality of life. Our efforts extend palliative care services to address the needs of these patient groups.


Some of our key initiatives include:

Liver Diseases Palliative Care

With liver diseases emerging as a growing public health concern due to lifestyle-related factors, Cipla Foundation has expanded its palliative care efforts to support patients with life-threatening liver conditions in partnership with the Liver Foundation, West Bengal ("LFWB"), an NGO.

The programme delivers palliative care through outpatient, inpatient, and home-based services, along with 24×7 app-based counselling, ensuring continuous and compassionate support to over 250 patients in FY 2025–26.

Compassionate Palliative Care Initiative

People living with life-limiting conditions such as cardiac failure, end-stage renal disease, cancer, and other serious illnesses often endure severe pain and debilitating symptoms that significantly impact their quality of life, making palliative care essential. Through our partnership with Sukoon Nilaya (King George V Memorial Trust), Mumbai, Maharashtra, we are dedicated to provide high-quality, compassionate palliative care, reaching as many individuals as possible in and around Mumbai.

Through these efforts, we supported 400 + unique patient in FY 2025-26.

Pediatrics Palliative Care

At Cipla, we place a strong emphasis on pediatrics palliative care, keeping both the child and the caregiver at the centre of our approach. We believe that early and continuous support can improve quality of life for both the child and the family. We ensure that our palliative care for children is personalised, inclusive , and responsive through our projects at Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children, Mumbai (BJ Wadia Hospital), Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society ("PRPCS"), Hyderabad, Novi Survat Goa, CanKids KidsCan, Delhi, LTMG Sion, Mumbai.

Through these initiatives we supported 5,000+ pediatric patients in FY 2025 -26.

Neuropalliative Care Initiative

Cipla Foundation’s partnership with Neuropalliative Care at National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences ("NIMHANS"), Bengaluru, Karnataka, supports the integration of neuropalliative care into mainstream systems, with a focus on sharing knowledge and strengthening practices among stakeholders.

Integrated Support for Chronic illness

Cipla Foundation’s partnership with St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bengaluru, Karnataka supports holistic care for people with neurological, cardiac, and renal conditions through symptom management, counselling, and training for healthcare professionals.

Through these efforts, we supported 2,000 + patients in FY 2025 -26.
Case Story

Deepika’s Journey of Strength and Support

The story of 56 year old Deepika, a homemaker diagnosed with dementia and Parkinsonism, reflects the transformative impact of this care model Deepika began experiencing early symptoms such as forgetfulness, slowed movement, and withdrawal from social interactions. Over the next two years, her condition gradually worsened. Following a fall that resulted in a fracture, she became completely dependent on her family for even the simplest daily tasks.

Read full story

2D. Saath-Saath Helpline

Launched in October 2021, Saath-Saath is a pan-India palliative care helpline supported by an Al-enabled chatbot, offering vital support to patients, families, and caregivers across India. Led by trained professionals, it offers free personalised multilingual support in Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu and Bengali through a tollfree number.

☎ 1800-202-7777
Toll-free Confidential Available in multiple languages
Saath-Saath Helpline
15,000+ Individuals Reached
5,000+ Referrals
37 Partners
38 Locations/Cities
across India

Together, these efforts strengthen access to timely, person-centered care, reflecting the ethos of 'Caring for Life'.

Primary Healthcare System

Mobile Healthcare Units ("MHUs")

As part of our community programme, we bring primary healthcare closer to underserved populations, with a focus on the elderly, women, and children.

In FY 2025-26, we provided primary healthcare through MHUs to over 17,000 individuals across four states (Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra) and delivered more than 1,08,000 medical consultations.

This programme is implemented through MHUs operated by HelpAge India and delivers comprehensive medical consultations directly at the community level. It provides targeted support to vulnerable groups and is integrated with the local health system through referral services, ensuring continuity of care wherever required.

Other Medical Support

Strengthening India’s Respiratory Healthcare Ecosystem by establishing the Cipla Foundation Centre for Pulmonary Medicine at the Tata IISc Medical School, Bengaluru

As a global leader in respiratory care, Cipla has pioneered solutions that improve the lives of patients living with asthma, COPD, and other chronic respiratory conditions. With rising air pollution and an increasing respiratory disease burden, the need for advanced pulmonary care has never been more urgent.

Against this backdrop, Cipla's partnership with Indian Institute of Science ("IISc"), Bengaluru, marks a milestone with the establishment of Cipla Foundation Centre for Pulmonary Medicine at the Tata IISc Medical School.

The Centre will advance research and develop India specific guidelines for COPD, ILD, asthma, and other lung conditions. It will also train pulmonologists and allied specialists, contributing to long-term human resource capacity in respiratory medicine. By integrating care, training, and research, the Centre aims to deliver sustainable and practical outcomes that enhance the quality of life for patients requiring pulmonary and palliative care support.

Supporting patients with thalassemia and other blood disorders

We remain committed to supporting patients with thalassemia and other blood disorders from underserved communities. In partnership with Sankalp India Foundation and Arpan Thalassemia and Sickle Cell Society, we facilitate access to life-saving and life-enhancing medical care.


Key areas of support include in FY 2025-26:

10+ Bone Marrow Transplant ("BMT") Procedures Supported
3,300+ Blood transfusions
facilitated
4,000+ Units of essential medication for
thalassemia patients donated

Global Response

We supplied critical medicines worth ₹11 lacs to humanitarian organisations globally, in support of vulnerable communities living with conditions such as HIV/ AIDS, cancer, respiratory illnesses and more.



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