Rajni Kanabar (9 November 1940 – 25 June 2019) was an M.B.B.S. doctor and philanthropist belonging to the third generation of an Indian-origin family in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. He was the founder-chairman of Regency Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam, and the initiator-convenor of the Tanzania Heart Babies Project, which he established in the year 1979. Born in

Mwanza Mwanza City, also known as Rock City to the residents, is a port city and capital of Mwanza Region on the southern shore of Lake Victoria in north-western Tanzania. With an urban population of 1,182,000 in 2021, it is Tanzania's second largest c ...

, he was presented with the

Pravasi Bharatiya Samman The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Honour/Award) is the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India or an organisation or institution established and run by Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Orig ...

Award as a person of Indian origin, from the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

in 2010, for facilitating the surgeries of children in Tanzania suffering from congenital heart diseases. He also received the PBS Award Label from the High Commission of India in Tanzania in 2013, and the Order of the United Republic of Tanzania Medal in 2014.

Career

Dr. Rajni Kanabar completed his M.B.B.S. education from B.J. Medical College in Ahmedabad. As a practicing physician in Tanzania, he observed a lack of infrastructure and medical facilities for children suffering from congenital heart diseases. In order to aid the timely treatment for these children, he founded the Tanzania Heart Babies Project in 1979 with the support of the Tanzanian Government’s Ministry of Health and the Lions Club of Dar es Salaam. Through this project, he facilitated surgeries of children from Tanzania, suffering from repairable congenital or

rheumatic Rheumatology (Greek ''ῥεῦμα'', ''rheûma'', flowing current) is a branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and management of disorders whose common feature is inflammation in the bones, muscles, joints, and internal organs. Rheumatolog ...

heart defect, at highly subsidized rates, both, in India and Tanzania. In 1999, he established the Regency Medical Centre, a private hospital, in Dar es Salaam. During his role as the hospital's chairman, Dr. Rajni Kanabar collaborated with a number of state-of-the-art hospitals in India such as Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Institute, Bangalore, Sathya Sai Heart Institute, Andhra Pradesh, Fortis Escort Heart Institute, New Delhi and Sri Sathya Sai Hospital, Rajkot to conduct these heart surgeries. Until 2016, 3600 children suffering from congenital heart disease have successfully been treated under the Tanzania Heart Babies Project at various Indian hospitals. His was also instrumental in conducting of free diabetes screening camps, orthopaedic hip and knee replacement camps and free eye screening camp at the Regency Medical Centre, throughout his tenure. He also played a key role in introducing an advanced laparoscopic surgery program to the country, thus, making Regency Medical Centre the first hospital in Tanzania that deployed

laparoscopy Laparoscopy () is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions (usually 0.5–1.5 cm) with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.Medlin ...

procedure for surgeries. Under his leadership, Regency Medical Centre has also provided 59,000

haemodialysis Hemodialysis, also spelled haemodialysis, or simply dialysis, is a process of purifying the blood of a person whose kidneys are not working normally. This type of dialysis achieves the extracorporeal removal of waste products such as creatini ...

sessions at subsidized rates.

Awards and recognition

Dr. Rajni Kanabar was honored with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samaan Award as a person of Indian origin, by the former President of India,

Pratibha Patil Prathibha DeviSingh Patil (born 19 December 1934) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the 12th president of India spanning from 2007 to 2012. She is the first woman to become the president of India. A member of the Indian National ...

at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on 9 January 2010. He was conferred with this award for the philanthropic work done under the Tanzania Heart Babies Project and for being instrumental in highlighting India as a center of cutting-edge medical treatment in the world.{{Cite journal, date=1 January 2010, title=PROFILES OF PRAVASI BHARATIYA SAMMAN AWARDEES, url=https://www.cgidubai.gov.in/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Jan2010_.pdf, journal=India Matters - PUBLICATION OF THE CONSULATE GENERAL OF INDIA IN DUBAI, volume=2, pages=9 In 2013, he received the PBS medal by the High Commission of India in Dar es Salaam. On 25 April 2014, he was presented with the 'Order of the United Republic Medal' by the former President of Tanzania, Dr.

Jakaya Kikwete Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (born 7 October 1950) is a Tanzanian politician who was the fourth president of Tanzania, in office from 2005 to 2015. Prior to his election as president, he was the Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1995 to 2005 under hi ...

References

1940 births 2019 deaths Tanzanian pediatricians Tanzanian medical doctors Recipients of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman