A crowdfunding platform to solve Pakistan's healthcare woes

Since its launch, Transparent Hands has facilitated over 200 surgeries, reports Tech in Asia

Pakistan-based startup Transparent Hands is a crowdfunding platform which looks to address the problem of a lack of access to quality healthcare in the nation. Pakistan has a population of approximately 200 million people, yet its health indicators are abysmal. The government allocates only 0.67% of GDP on the healthcare sector; so the country’s public health infrastructure is almost non-existent. 

While patients can receive access to quality healthcare facilities, it is very expensive. With a reported 58.7 million citizens living under the poverty line, this is simply not possible for a vast segment of the populace.

Transparent Hands, which was incubated at Lahore-based Plan9, launched operations in 2014 with the objective of bringing transparency to charitable donations in Pakistan. Founder Rameeza Moin says that the venture is entirely not-for-profit and came about after a thorough analysis of the existing healthcare segment in the country.

“There are many potential donors across the world who want to contribute, but they don’t know where and when to send their money or whether their donations will be utilized in a proper way. This is the main issue we’re trying to overcome,” she adds.

Transparency is at the core of the startup’s processes. Team members visit rural and semi-urban areas to find patients in need of critical medical care. Their cases are verified, both in terms of health and finances. The startup currently only works with patients who require surgery.

Since its launch, Transparent Hands has facilitated over 200 surgeries and has partner hospitals in four cities. Its next step is to expand into other major urban centers, as well as focus on other areas of service delivery – such as education.

This is an excerpt from Tech in Asia. You can read the full article here