Dr. Iffat Zafar, the founder of Sehat Kahani, a telemedicine app, bags the Elevate Prize Foundation Award 2020. She has become the first Pakistani female to receive this prestigious award. Her project, Sehat Kahani, won among 1,300 participants from around 119 countries.
The Elevate Prize Foundation tweeted: “#ElevatePrize winner @DrIffatZafarAga, founder of @AppSehat, is #empowering women expanding #healthcare access through #telemedicine in #Pakistan. “The way forward is a very different #Pakistan, where #healthcare is accessible to everyone…”
#ElevatePrize winner @DrIffatZafarAga, founder of @AppSehat, is #empowering women and expanding #healthcare access through #telemedicine in #Pakistan.
“The way forward is a very different #Pakistan, where #healthcare is accessible to everyone…” https://t.co/GRysmPcVtj pic.twitter.com/bUL3InZnPG
— The Elevate Prize Foundation (@ElevatePrize) October 30, 2020
Edinburgh Global eHealth, where Dr Iffat is currently a commonwealth scholar, congratulated her in a tweet: “Congratulations to our Global eHealth student @DrIffatZafarAga on winning the MIT #ElevatePrize! Iffat is co-founder of @SehatKahani, which provides #telehealthcare services to the medically underserved in rural Pakistan. @mscehealth”
Congratulations to our Global eHealth student @DrIffatZafarAga on winning the MIT #ElevatePrize !
Iffat is co-founder of @SehatKahani which provides #telehealthcare services to the medically underserved in rural Pakistan. @mscehealth pic.twitter.com/gBLrpIHng6— Edinburgh Global eHealth (@mscehealth) October 23, 2020
Social Innovation Lab also congratulated Dr Iffat for becoming the first female recipient of this award in Pakistan!
A huge congratulations to #SILSuperStar @Iffatzafaraga Co-Founder @SehatKahani for winning the #MIT @ElevatePrize! 🏆🙌
Selected out of 1,297 applicants from 119 countries! She is an inspiration for us all, keep rising✨#awakenthehero #telehealth #SehatKahani #SIL https://t.co/GRRGjURK1f
— SocialInnovationLab (@socinnlab) October 21, 2020
Dr Iffat Zafar’s Remarkable Work
Dr Iffat Zafar is the co-founder of the telemedicine service, Sehat Kahani. The services accommodate patients with affordable healthcare consultation online and empower women doctors. It provides them with a digital medium to practice medicine, otherwise restraining from working outside of the house following long-standing traditions in Pakistan.
According to Pakistan Medical and Dental College, females make up 60% of the students graduating from medical college, yet 77% of these female graduates exit the workforce within the upcoming years due to social-cultural barriers resulting in gender inequality.
Sehat Kahani is a mobile application that connects patients with healthcare practitioners on audio/video calls. Other than that, the application records the history and chat of the patient with the practitioner.
The platform had provided 260,000 consultations during 2020 when the pandemic wreaked havoc in our lives. This was the time when everyone’s finances were restraint, and patients were scared to visit the hospital as they feared they’d catch the deadly coronavirus.
Acknowledging The Elevate Prize Foundation Award, Dr Iffat Zafar Aga, Co-founder & COO Sehat Kahani said,” After winning the Prize I feel ecstatic – for the first time a woman from Pakistan winning the Prize feels great – it also adds an element of further responsibility on me and my organization to ensure we can give back to the community and the entire country and make more avenues for healthcare access within Pakistan.”
The Elevate Prize Award has granted funding of $5 million along with mentors from across the world.
Every year, The Elevate Prize Award searches for a total of 10 devoted leaders ready to change the world! The organization provides assistance and sources to promote their influence internationally.
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