The Ambuja Foundation Project
Overview
ABS has collaborated with the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF) in a rural Breast Cancer Awareness program since 2023. Stakeholders included the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) Bathinda, the Association of Breast Surgeons of India (ABSI), Tata Cancer Care and the Punjab Medical Council.
ACF is a grassroots, pan India NGO which was established in 1993 by Ambuja Cements Limited in accordance with the mandatory corporate social responsibility laws in India.
The first awareness program was held in Chandrapur, Maharashtra in 2023, followed by Bathinda, Punjab in 2025. A third event took place in Ambujanagar, Gujarat in February 2026.
Background and Needs Analysis
Many rural communities face challenges in accessing specialist breast services, leading to delayed presentation and diagnosis. The project seeks to strengthen early detection through community engagement and education of frontline healthcare workers.
Key Activities
The programme has successfully brought together clinicians, nurses and community health workers through multidisciplinary training events focused on earlier diagnosis and improved community awareness.
Key activities include:
- Community awareness campaigns
- Educational programmes for healthcare professionals
- Clinical breast examination training
- Capacity-building workshops
- Collaboration with local and national clinical organisations
- Outcomes and Impact
Implementation Approach
Project Documents
download_for_offline Mandatory Corporate Social Responsibility in IndiaSite Visits
"It was a great pleasure to be one of the faculty from the ABS International Committee at the 3-day Chandrapur Breast Awareness and Education event. This inaugural event took place in Chandrapur, India between the 27 February and 1 March 2023.
How it all began…
in 2019, pre-pandemic, Miss Leena Chagla, then the co-chair of the ABS international Committee, read about the work of ACF. ACF has already been supporting many medical awareness programs involving communicable disease as part of their CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) which in India is legally required to represent at least 2% of the capital of corporations. ACF was looking to expand their scope into non-communicable diseases including cancer, so she reached out to them. The idea of a breast cancer education and
awareness programme was born.
Leena wanted to be sure that before any awareness program was started, a clear and sure pathway was identified for patients with positive findings to be managed. Dr Vinayak Sonawane (Chief Medical Officer, ACF) took the task of ensuring medical facilities were on board to accommodate any potential patients identified within the programme.
With the Covid-19 pandemic all plans were put on hold. But after that, when Leena was invited to Hyderabad for the ABSi meeting, Mrs Pearl Tiwari, CEO of ACF, flew to meet with her there to finalise the plans for the event to take place. This showed huge commitment from ACF towards the project.
ABS led the collaboration between ACF, ABSi, Tata Cancer Care Programme and Dr Ravi Kannan, a Surgical Oncologist who carries out similar work in Assam (Northeast rural India), who were all present at the conference in Hyderabad 2022. We helped plan the Education Days for both the medical staff and the Healthcare workers, using the model we had already used in Africa..."
Mina Youssef
Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital
