The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kolkata, in collaboration with Mati-Ta Wellness and Hospitality, Chittagong and Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata; organized an International Health and Wellness Expo in Chittagong on 15^th and 16^th September 2022 at Radisson Blu Chattogram Bay View.  Healthcare and Wellness Stakeholders from India, Bangladesh and Malaysia participated in the Expo with exhibition stalls and talk shows by doctors and healthcare experts.   

Mr. M A Latif, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Bangladesh was the Chief Guest. He said, “India’s services in healthcare are appreciated by people in Bangladesh. Visiting India for treatment is convenient economically and also logistics wise. The hospitals in India are requested to keep a desk for patients of Bangladesh with interpreters for non-Bangla speaking doctors. These services are provided by hospitals in Dubai, Singapore, Thailand or other countries.” 

Mr. Mahbubul Alam, President, The Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry and. Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Assistant High Commissioner of India in Chittagong graced the Opening Session among other dignitaries. 

Dr. Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group and Dr. Alok Roy, Former President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Chairman, Medica Group of Hospitals addressed the Opening Session, on 15^th September virtually.  

A 21 Member Delegation visited Bangladesh from India. Leader of the Delegation, Mr. Arnab Basu, Vice President, The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Advisory Leader and Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt. Ltd., said “The objective of the Expo is to bring together the healthcare service providers of South and South East Asia not only to showcase their services and products to a potential consumer base but also to connect with each other for possible collaborations like Joint Ventures and Exchange Programmes.” The other members of the Delegation were: 

• Rana Dasgupta, CEO-Eastern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group
• Sayan Pal, Radiation Oncologist, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata
• Debraj Jash, Pulmonologist, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals , Kolkata
• Rupak Barua, Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals
• Dr Sanjoy Basu, Senior Consultant, Department of Gastroenterology, AMRI
• Dr Binayak Chanda, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiac Surgery, AMRI
• Biplab Chandra, Consultant Physician, Calcutta Heart Clinic & Hospital
• Dr Avik Karak, Cardiologist, Fortis Hospitals
• Dr Sandeep Prasad, Urologist, Fortis Hospitals
• Purnendu Roy, Chairman & Managing Director, Genesis Hospital
• Avijit Das, Managing Director, Hermes Voyages Pvt. Ltd.
• Satish Munoli, COO, ICATT Air Ambulance Service
• Ms Suparna Sengupta, CEO, IQ City Medical Collage and Hospital
• Soumik Sarkar, Neuro Medicine, IQ City Medical Collage and Hospital
• Harsh Dhar, Medica Superspecialty Hospital
• L .N. Tripathy, Medica Superspecialty Hospital
• YogeshJoshi , Vice President, Marketing & Business Development - External Group Hospital & International Marketing, Medica Superspecialty Hospital
• Dr Arnab Gupta, Medical Director, Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre and Research Institute
• Soumyajit Roy, Co-Founder, Solaire Initiative Pvt Ltd
• Debajyoti Banerjee, Founder and Director, Seven Boats Info-System Pvt Ltd. 

Dr Munal Mahbub, Chairman, Mati-ta and Senior Vice President, Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry said, “Over 56% people in Bangladesh visit India for treatment. They need to know where to go and who to contact.”

“This is first of its kind Expo in Bangladesh. Thanks to this initiative of The Bengal Chamber, we are here and engaging with other hospitals in Bangladesh and also with suppliers. We are also learning new things which we may adopt or apply in our work”, said Mr. Rana Dasgupta, CEO-Eastern Region, Apollo Hospitals Group 

Mr. Rupak Barua, Group CEO, AMRI Hospitals said, “Collaborations are important to survive in this volatile environment. This Expo should be organized every year so that people of both India and Bangladesh are benefited.” 

2 Day Health Talks included

• Cardiology
• Lungs Diseases
• Urology
• Neurosurgery
• Chronic Pancreatitis
• Cervical Cancer
• Lifestyle modification to prevent non communicable diseases
• Health Insurance

and also

• Air ambulance services 

Health Talk on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in the 21st Century was deliberated by Dr. Basabendra Choudhury, Cardiologist, Fortis Hospitals and Dr Binayak Chanda, Senior Consultant, Department of Cardiac Surgery, AMRI.  A Talk on Urology (diseases, prevention, treatment) was given by Dr Sandeep Prasad, Urologist, Fortis Hospitals. Dr. Debraj Jash, Pulmonologist, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata deliberated about Lungs Diseases and treatments of such diseases in the Pulmonology Department of Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata. Doctors from Medica Superspecialty Hospital, Dr. Harsh Dhar and Dr. L .N. Tripathy conducted a Talk Show on Recent Advances in Head & Neck Surgery and Decision making in Neurosurgery. Dr. Soumik Sarkar, Neuro Medicine, IQ City Medical College and Hospital discussed Interesting Neurological Cases to create awareness amongst the audience about symptoms, treatments and critical situations for hospitalization. Talk Show on Chronic Pancreatitis was conducted by AMRI Hospitals. Dr Sanjoy Basu, Senior Consultant, Department of Gastroenterology was the Speaker for the Session. 3 Talks Shows were held on Oncology, Cancer Treatments and Cervical Cancer by Dr Shafatujjahan, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Medical Oncology and Radiotherapy and Dr. Shamsunnahar Bintha Mannan, Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology and Venereology from Chattagram Maa o Shishu Hospital and Medical College, Dr. Sayan Pal, Radiation Oncologist, Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata, Dr Munal Mahbub, Senior Vice President, Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Chairman, Mati-ta and Dr Shahana Begum Shelly, Associate Professor,  Gynae and Obstetrics and Colposcopist , Chittagong Medical College. The Session on Cervical Carcinoma, which is a growing health concern for women but awareness is yet to be achieved especially in developing countries like India and Bangladesh, attracted the audience in Bangladesh. Dr. Biplab Chandra, Consultant Physician, Calcutta Heart Clinic & Hospital conducted a Talk Show on ‘Role of lifestyle modification to prevent non communicable diseases.’ Talks Shows were also held on Insurance and Diagnostics Reports – Myths & Facts and were conducted by Ms. Sharmin Tarannum, Assistant Vice President, Business Development and Strategic Alliance, GD Assist and Dr. Saifuddin Md. Khaled, Consultant, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Epic Health Care. Dr. Soumyajit Roy, Co-Founder, Solaire Initiative Pvt Ltd in the Talk Show introduced their invention OM REDOX - Oxygen Box to the healthcare stakeholders in Bangladesh. ICATT Air Ambulance also introduced to the stakeholders in Bangladesh the ‘Air Ambulance services - Connecting Bangladesh with the best Critical Care facilities across the world.’ 

The Exhibitors included mostly hospitals and also medical equipment start up, air ambulance, medical tourism agency, wellness resort, beauty products, digital marketing agency, digital payment platform and health insurance company. 

B2B Meetings took place and some collaborations on medical tourism and medical equipment were initiated. 

The 2 Day International Health & Wellness Expo and Heath Talk Shows attracted visitors from Chittagong City and adjacent areas. 

Exhibitors from Bangladesh Bio-Xin DMFR,EW Villa,Toti Cell Epic Health Care GD Assist Maa-O-Shishu Hospital Mati-Ta Nagad Surgescope  Exhibitors from India Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals, Kolkata AMRI Hospitals Anubhab Limited Calcutta Heart Clinic & Hospital Fortis Hospitals GD Hospital & Diabetes Institute Genesis Hospital Genome- The fertility Centre ( A unit Of Ambuja Neotia Healthcare Venture Limited) Hermes Voyages Pvt. Ltd. ICATT Air Ambulance Services IQ City Medical Collage and Hospital Medica Group of Hospitals Saroj Gupta Cancer Center & Research Institute Seven Boats Info-System Pvt. Ltd. Solaire Initiative Pvt Ltd  From Malaysia Institut Jantung Negara (IJN)