Daily Times

Sehat Kahani, Pakistan’s leading national digital healthcare platform, aiming to democratise healthcare in the country for all using innovative tech solutions, organised a closing ceremony for its COVID-19 Immunisation & Prevention programme in Karachi.

This programme was implemented under Stop the Spread project, in collaboration with Health Services Academy, Sindh Education Foundation and UNDP and was supported by The Coca-Cola Foundation.

This project was designed to increase awareness regarding safe COVID-19 vaccination across Sindh. 3,000 women healthcare workers were trained virtually on safe and effective immunization. Furthermore, vaccination drives were conducted across Sindh especially in underserved and hard to reach areas in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Sanghar and Thar with the help of the Sindh government to vaccinate thousands of beneficiaries. More than 150 vaccinators and health care workers were also trained on safe immunization via an in-person training session in Hyderabad prior to the vaccination drives.

The closing ceremony was attended by the participants and representatives of the Health Services Academy, The Coca-Cola Foundation, UNDP, Sindh Education foundation and Sehat Kahani.

Dr Iffat Zafar Aga, COO & Co-Founder, Sehat Kahani, opened the floor for the ceremony, introducing the company. She said, “We started Sehat Kahani with the aim to help patients across Pakistan to get medical help whenever and wherever they need it. At Sehat Kahani, we want to democratize health in the country, ensuring that everyone has access to the help they need, especially during the pandemic. As of today, we’ve helped thousands of users access free consultations across Pakistan.”

Dr Sara Saeed Khurram, CEO & Co-Founder, Sehat Kahani, presented the project achievements thus far, “Despite 101 million people infected in Pakistan, there’s still a lot of misconception surrounding COVID-19. There was a dire need for a campaign to promote awareness regarding COVID-19 and its vaccines. The COVID-19 Immunisation and Awareness programme, which was executed in collaboration with the Health Services Academy, Sindh Education Foundation and UNDP and through the support of The Coca-Cola Foundation along with the government of Sindh helped in increasing awareness and uptake of vaccines in areas where hesitancy was high.”

Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan, Vice-Chancellor, HSA said, “Being a Public Health leader, I have always believed strongly in the role of Immunization. During the COVID19 Pandemic, the lack of awareness around the disease as well as its ways of prevention was a huge factor leading to medical ignorance in our country. In this situation, the work that Sehat Kahani in collaboration with us at HSA, UNDP and the Coca Cola Foundation did was a game-changer in terms of creating avenues of access to healthcare along with awareness around COVID, its vaccination as well as the benefits of a mass inoculation. I commend the role Sehat Kahani played in training HCP’s along with this inoculation drive”

Syed Moin Haider Zaidi, Project Manager, Youth Education, Employment and Empowerment Project, UNDP Pakistan, a guest of honour at the event said, “Youth form the biggest segment of the population and need to be realised as one of the most important stakeholders in fighting the pandemic. Under this programme, we were able to train young women healthcare workers and mobilize youth volunteers who were able to encourage vaccination uptake in areas where vaccine hesitancy was high. We will continue to support and empower young people of the country and mainstream them in the development process of Pakistan.”

Dr Faisal Hashmi, Head External Affairs and Stakeholder Management for The Coca-Cola Company speaking on behalf of The Coca-Cola Foundation said, “In the times of a global health crisis, we are proud to have used our resources to fund initiatives to help curb the spread of COVID-19 in Pakistan by creating awareness for millions and empowering over 7,000 health care workers.”

The Coca-Cola Foundation’s grant helped support UNDP Pakistan and Sehat Kahani’s efforts especially focused on communities with limited access to health programs.

Some stakeholders took to the stage to talk about their experiences in the project. Participants were then provided certificates for their participation in the training.

UNDP is the leading United Nations organisation fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet.

Sehat Kahani is one of the leading telemedicine platforms in Pakistan that virtually connects patients in need of affordable, convenient, and flexible healthcare options to a panel of online general physicians and specialists. Till now, it has facilitated over 900,000 consultations through tele-medicine, impacting 7.2 million lives.