A new patient is evaluated at Sehat First's Chashma Village Center clinic.
The Challenge
- With nearly three-quarters of Pakistan's population living on two dollars a day or less, there is a strong need for access to affordable healthcare.
- In geographically dispersed low-income communities, quality healthcare services are limited, with few doctors and publicly funded health centers that are often non-functional due to shortages of quality staff and lack of funding.
- Low-income populations suffer from a prevalence of communicable diseases that should be preventable, including malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory illnesses and vaccine-preventable diseases (measles, hepatitis).
The Innovation
- Sehat First ('Health First') offers affordable basic health care and pharmaceutical services to low-income communities through franchised tele-health centers.
- This franchised network of outlets is connected online to provide consulting services using web-based software, offering tele-consulting services via an e-sehat application that remotely links up patients with doctors and specialists.
- With Acumen Fund's 'patient' capital investment during its pilot phase, Sehat First will start its operations by opening five retail outlets in the semi-urban areas of Karachi.
The Impact
- Sehat First is the first significant attempt to establish a retail healthcare franchise to serve low-income communities in Pakistan.
- Currently in its pilot phase, over the next two years Sehat First will open 24 outlets across peri-urban Karachi to provide quality health consultation services to thousands of people annually.