A proud and joyful moment for Pakistan as Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram (Cofounder and CEO Sehat Kahani) is awarded the Rolex Award for Enterprise as Associate LAUREATE for her Company called “Sehat Kahani”. With this Dr. Saeed is now the first Pakistani women on the list of now 150 Laureates. Dr. Sara Seed is the CEO and Co-Founder of “Sehat Kahani”, a social enterprise dedicated to bring change in Pakistan’s healthcare sector.
“For me that is my ambitious dream,
and that’s what is success, that a doctor
should be available for everyone who needs it.” – Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram
Some of the well known projects who gained support from Rolex Awards include Peek, The Ice Stupa Project, Chowberry and Planeta Oceano. Started in 1976, Rolex Awards for Enterprise has supported exceptional individuals aged between 18-30, in their projects to make the world a better place.
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What is Sehat Kahani?
Co-founded by a duo of 2 Female Doctorpreneurs; Dr. Sara Saeed Khurram and Dr. Iffat Zafar Aga; Sehat Kahani is a health tech social enterprise which engages a network of qualified female doctors who were previously unable to work due to household activities, utilizing digitization of healthcare. Currently, Sehat Kahani has 2 business verticals, where online doctors get connected with patients in remote areas of Pakistan by tele-medicine through nurse assisted e-Health clinics.
With this health-tech enterprise two major problems are being solved:
- Patients are getting connected with qualified doctors without having to travel miles, especially for females who do not have any access to qualified physicians within the vicinity of their communities, have difficulty travelling or don’t consult male doctors due to cultural conservatives.
- Sehat Kahani is bringing back the doctor-brides in workforce!
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 3 women in Pakistan don’t see a doctor during their pregnancy, while 1 child in 5 does not get to see their fifth birthday. In a country of 200 million people, where thousands of doctors qualify every year, there’s only 1 doctor for every 1,200 patients. 70% of the country’s medical students are women, yet only 23% of them go on to register as physicians when they graduate. The rest either go abroad or leave their careers mid-way to get married and become stay-at-home moms after starting a family.
“We knew this problem existed, and being at the receiving end of it, we knew we had to solve it. People suffer because there are no doctors available; especially females who cannot visit male doctors, nor can they frequently step out of their houses to travel miles to get treatment done. We had to bring these doctor brides back into the workforce.” – Dr. Sara Saeed Khurrum
Sehat Kahani has 2 distinct business verticals:
The 1st entails E-Health Clinics based in marginalized populations where Sehat Kahani’s e-health clinics are a one-stop shop for residents living in low-income communities, offering nurse-assisted video consultations with a PMDC-certified online doctor, a visiting sonographer and ultrasound facility, and a visiting diagnostic service all under one roof.
The 2nd vertical is a Health tech mobile application enabling access to online physicians for the urbanized population utilizing smartphones. Sehat Kahani’s app can be downloaded in any smartphone and can also be accessed from laptop.
“It’s not only mobile friendly, but can also be used on laptops and tablets. It is a holistic digital-health solution that enables individuals to access primary healthcare services online through efficient virtual consultations in less than three clicks. People will not have to stand in long queues or wait for hours to connect with their doctors. Our service is available 24/7 for anyone who wants to access it.” said Dr. Saeed.
The app allows a patient to record their health history, chat, or conduct an audio/video consultation with an available network of 1500 qualified doctors. Clients can also obtain a prescription and are provided with at-home pharmacy delivery and lab tests (through partner organisations) to make it more convenient for people who work hard to support their families. Sehat Kahani has brought advanced solutions to tackle the problems of healthcare industry of Pakistan and aims to achieve various sustainable development goals in the process.
“This is an honest effort from the Sehat Kahani team to solve an urgent healthcare need for many. As the usability enhances, this application will undergo many iterations to include new features as the possibilities in digital healthcare are endless but we are excited to embark on this ambitious journey. This will definitely enable the company to go a long way in creating a positive change in patients’ lives.” said Dr. Zafar (Cofounder & COO Sehat Kahani).
It’s not only solving the problems for patients and female-doctors but also contributing to the economy in a great way by diversifying and creating more employment opportunities.With this fast pace we can imagine that Sehat Kahani will impact more than 15M lives in the next 5 years!
While Dr. Saeed has also suffered from the Doctor Bride Phenomena in her life, she decided to turn the tables over and became an inspiration for thousands of female doctors who give up on their dreams under similar circumstances. Her story is not only about empowering herself but also about empowering thousands of female doctors who are now able to pursue their dreams on this platform!
