SAFE Rural Health

SAFE Rural Health

The total population of Pakistan at the beginning of the year 2020 was approximately 216M with more than 50% of the population residing in rural areas which are often difficult to reach due to poor road infrastructure. The availability of doctors is scarce in rural areas. There is only 0.74 physician per 1000 people. The mortality rate is almost double in rural areas as compared to urban areas. It is essential to provide access to medical facilities to the people in rural areas.

SAFE-Rural-Health program aims to build a digital healthcare community that bridges the gap in knowledge between health and computing and addresses the present and future complexities of design and development of digital health solutions. The intent of SAFE-Rural-Health in Pakistan is to support the provision of health care services to reduce the mortality rate of women and children, to timely address the maternity related issues in remote areas and to monitor old people. UWS is one of five partners involved in this project.

Applying Remote Health Monitoring in rural areas of Pakistan to deliver and assist with the delivery of healthcare services can reduce or minimise challenges and burdens patients' encounter, such as transportation issues related to traveling for specialty care. Remote Health Monitoring can also improve monitoring, timeliness, and communications within the healthcare system.

The consortium is committed to apply innovative and cutting technologies likes big data, deep learning, smart sensing, internet of things and seamless communication to address the challenging issues around application and adoption of Remote Health Monitoring in partner country.

Impact and Outputs:

All project objectives have been achieved and quantified with KPIs declared in the proposal and additional KPIs. Key impact includes:

• 16 training sessions have been conducted in Pakistan.

• 3 laboratory infrastructures dealing with remote health monitoring platform have been deployed tested and validated.

• 30 publications published in high index journal and high ranked conferences.

The SAFE-RH project has made substantial strides in advancing digital health education across Pakistan and Southeast Asia. A specialized SAFE-RH Technological Lab has been developed, featuring three pilot programs tailored to support vulnerable populations—namely, the elderly, women, and infants—through hands-on training for both students and healthcare professionals. Additionally, the project has introduced and delivered a series of modules focused on remote health monitoring, extending knowledge on digital health solutions. Through partnerships with various institutions, the project has effectively disseminated its findings, prioritizing curriculum enhancement, faculty development, and active student involvement to reinforce lasting improvements in education and healthcare. In Bahawalpur’s remote areas, SAFE-RH has contributed to establishing laboratory facilities aimed at equipping students and healthcare providers with essential skills in remote health monitoring, aligning with key strategic priorities for South Asia, especially Pakistan. Overall, the SAFE-RH project is pivotal in shaping the region’s healthcare landscape by empowering future healthcare professionals and strengthening digital health education.

This project aligns to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals.