Dr. Sara Saeed Honored as Associate Laureate of the 2019 Rolex Awards for Enterprise

Pakistani doctor Sara Saeed is helping to reach thousands of patients in her country’s medically under-served communities by connecting them with home-based female doctors via an innovative, low-cost, tele-medicine (e-health) network. She will be honoured as an Associate Laureate of the Rolex Awards for Enterprise for her project during a special event at the Etihad Museum in Dubai, on Sunday 8 December 2019. The Rolex Awards form part of Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative supporting individuals seeking to find solutions to humankind’s most pressing challenges. 

Of the 170,000 doctors in Pakistan, an impressive 63 per cent are female. However, says Saeed, co-founder and Chief Executive of the Sehat Kahani digital service: “A lot of female doctors do not work after getting their professional degree. Instead they stay at home having a family, a situation termed the ‘doctor bride’ phenomenon. Through technology, we’re putting these female doctors back into the workforce within the cultural barriers that exist in Pakistan.” 

To date, Saeed has engaged 75 home-based female doctors and now runs 25 e-clinics across Pakistan, each administered by a nurse who connects patients through tele-medicine to one of these doctors.

Having served 900,000 patients since 2017, Saeed’s plan is to expand the network to 100 e-clinics, thereby significantly increasing the number of patients who would benefit from primary healthcare. 

Earlier this year, Saeed was selected as one of 10 Rolex Awards finalists by a jury of independent international experts from a field of 957 candidates from 111 countries in areas broadly encompassing the environment, health, applied technology and exploration. Given the public interest in all 10 finalists as demonstrated by an online vote, and the quality of their projects, Rolex decided to bestow Associate Laureate Awards on five finalists in addition to the five Laureates chosen by the jury. All of the Awards were announced in Washington, D.C. in June 2019. 

Saeed will receive a monetary grant in support of her project and a Rolex chronometer. 

The Rolex Awards for Enterprise were launched 43 years ago to mark the 50th anniversary of the legendary Rolex Oyster – the first waterproof wristwatch – by supporting individuals who pursue projects that advance our knowledge of the world, improve human well-being and protect our natural heritage by helping to conserve habitats and species. Saeed’s project exemplifies the spirit of enterprise demonstrated by the Award winners whom Rolex has recognized for over four decades.