Empowering Women in Pakistan

Photo: one of our patients in Pakistan speaks to a doctor over the RingMD platform. By disseminating knowledge, providing a direct link to approachable female doctors, and above all making it clear that these women are not alone; we trying to support Pakistanis by providing access to healthcare.

Tackling taboo topics

Pakistan’s healthcare system places it close to the bottom of the rankings in the Human Development Index, with less than 1 doctor per 1,000 people. Women, in particular, often lack vital care. Research has shown that female health is sorely under-prioritized in Pakistani society. Cultural taboos hold many women back from seeking out healthcare services, and general medical awareness and education is often so poor in rural areas that treatment comes too late. For many women, their first and only visit to the hospital is to die.

Photo: women and children in rural Pakistan consulting with our medical team.

Delivering healthcare via mobile clinics

Our team is bringing healthcare resources to Pakistanis in remote rural villages, by facilitating virtual consultations using internet-enabled vehicles. This vehicle fleet is equipped with basic medical equipment, and in some cases, doctors from various specialties are on hand to assist. The virtual consultation services conducted from the vehicles connect villagers to doctors thousands of miles away in major cities like Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. In an uncertain political and economic climate, this type of critical service is providing invaluable healthcare relief in poverty and conflict-stricken areas. Our virtual care services have already proven to be critical for both patients and doctors alike in Pakistan.

Photo: telemedicine being used for rural and humanitarian relief. Here, the RingMD team delivers needed medical services to a woman in rural Pakistan.

Creating affordable solutions

Our team is currently in negotiations with major telecoms providers in Pakistan to secure affordable data packages for low-cost use of these vital digital healthcare services — with the aim of making the service even more accessible to as many people as possible. We also offer a Question & Answer forum in which people can type a health query or search for symptoms, and our active network of doctors answer the questions pro bono. The service has been amplified in Pakistan and other countries through a partnership with Facebook’s Free Basics initiative, which is providing tailored access to internet, free-of-charge. This forum has opened up an invaluable information source to people in remote rural communities, many of whom have never had the luxury of browsing the Internet. Read more about the forum here.

Local partnerships for better service

We work hand-in-hand with the government, companies and local leaders all across Pakistan. If you’d like to work together, contact us at support@ring.md.