Iffat Aga is no stranger to searching for flexible work options. Born in Saudi Arabia, Aga attended one of the best medical schools in Pakistan and started working for some the world’s most credible pharmaceutical research company. Aga later became pregnant,  miscarried and conceived again. In this experience, she found that versatile work options for women were not common, and in many instances didn’t exist.

Female Health Practitioners

Women in developing countries, especially Pakistan, are limited by familial and childcare commitment. However, the majority of students in local Pakistani medical schools are women, and are oftentimes unable to attend full-time because of these responsibilities.

Still having passion to continue her career as a physician, Iffat Aga gathered a group of women and founded Sehat Kahani. The Telehealth company specializes in connecting out-of-work female physicians to poor-income Pakistani communities; many of these populations desperately need access to medical care, but are often unable to afford it.

The company currently operates under 14 organizations across Pakistan and has assisted over 500 thousand patients. The first of its kind, the new Telehealth company revolutionizes medical access in Pakistan.

How Sehat Kahani Provides Dynamic Access

There are several ways in which Telehealth companies provide care to patients online; Sehat Kahani does so through videos, online chatting and preventive health drives.Her most popular is video health chatting and preventive health drives. Currently, the company motivates women in low-income communities to continue practicing good hygiene habits.

Washing hands and disposing of infant toiletry appropriately are two ways Sehat Kahani aims to begin protecting communities from disease. By the end of the program, the medical staff at Sehat Kahani says they plan to “ensure that there is an increase in the number of families exhibiting health hygiene practices and a reduction in diseases such as diarrhea and other infections.”

Though this may seem like a simple step to some of us, Sehat Kahani takes great steps to remind communities that even the most simple of steps can facilitate the most dramatic change. The new Telehealth company revolutionizes medical access in Pakistan through other outreach portfolios as well. One such method includes medical vehicles that travel across Pakistan if a patient is in need of physical care.

Women and Telehealth Company

Female nurses and assistants are present when the vehicle arrives, but are assisted by a physician through video communication. Thus far, the vehicles have stopped in the cities of: Peshawar, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Sehat Kahani has grown exponentially since its start up in April of 2018, and is projected to continue this path in the upcoming months. By 2020, the company aspires to create 100 online e-health centers across Pakistan.

Further goals of the organization also include continuation of mobile health centers, and women’s work advocacy through an all-female staff.

The Telehealth company revolutionizes medical access in Pakistan by allowing women in low-income countries to be freed from socioeconomic boundaries. Dr. Aga has changed popular beliefs regarding women in the medical field, and many large companies that support her forward-thinking anticipate where the future will take the powerhouse of Sehat Kahani.

– Logan Moore

Photo: Flickr