04/02/2022

Building the Razavi Medical Complex, Sri Lanka

Looking back on the Razavi Medical Complex and celebrating the project’s success.

This Friday 4th February 2022 marks World Cancer Day and raises awareness of the disease which is the leading cause of many deaths worldwide. In 2018, there were 18.1 million new cases and 9.5 million cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the USA, one in two women and one in three men will develop cancer in their lifetime. Now, a similar rate has been reported in the UK, with a new study published in the British Journal of Cancer claiming one in two men and women will be diagnosed with the disease at some point in their lives.

World Cancer Day is a time for reflection. Unfortunately all of our lives will be touched by cancer at some point. Since the beginning, Ahmad Tea has been committed to supporting charities and sourcing our products sustainability – fulfilling our Managing Director’s vision that ‘we work to give’. One of these initiatives is the building of a cancer hospital in Sri Lanka, the Razavi Medical Complex at the Apeksha Hospital Maharagama.

Ahmad Tea has a close relationship with Sri Lanka – it’s one of the main countries where we source our tea. As a token of appreciation and gratitude to all the citizens of Sri Lanka, Ahmad Tea built a seven storey, state of the art cancer hospital which was handed over to the public in 2016. The company strategically partnered with the Ministry of Health by committing to fund the design and the building of the hospital which has 373 beds for adult patients, 5 operating theatres, 12 surgical ICU beds, a day chemotherapy unit and emergency treatment unit.

Ahmad Tea also funded indoor and outdoor pharmacies, laundry and sterilisation departments, patient canteens on each floor and offices for the consultants. Also included was a bone marrow treatment unit which is the only unit for its kind in Sri Lanka and has been highly successful treating patients. The new bone marrow transplant unit has successfully completed over 130 transplants to date with very good outcomes for the patients. The new cancer hospital works within international standards for cancer care and the American Society for Haematology (ASH) has recently congratulated the Razavi Medical Complex for its bone marrow success.

Before Ahmad Tea invested in the new hospital, often patients had to lie on the floor when they were treated and now after the investment, every patient has a bed.

At Ahmad Tea we are guided by a fervent belief in our responsibility to give unconditionally, with kindness and respect. To fulfil that responsibility, we offer this kindness to people and communities all over the world. It is our mission to act in such a way that we inspire kindness in others, too.

On World Cancer Day, we are proud of our investment in the Razavi Cancer Hospital and thankful to all of our tea drinkers and partners. Without their support we simply could not complete projects like this.