Tag: Public Healthcare

At ACT, we believe that technology, when paired with contextual innovation and government collaboration, can unlock large-scale impact especially in overlooked areas like adolescent mental health. 

In India, over 197 million people live with mental health disorders, with 50% of all conditions emerging by age 14 and 75% by age 24. Yet, preventive mental health care remains largely absent from the school system. Embedding early intervention at scale presents a powerful opportunity to drive systemic impact and improve long-term outcomes across generations.

Atman is one such organisation driving systemic change in school-based mental health. It focuses on students in grades 9 to 12 in government schools, delivering culturally contextualised support through a hybrid model that engages students, teachers and the broader education ecosystem.

The approach combines interactive smart class content that enables structured, age-appropriate discussions in classrooms, a gamified app that offers short-form media and quizzes to build self-awareness, and access to virtual counsellors for students who need deeper emotional support.

Atman is currently operational in over 400 government schools and has reached more than 3.5 lakh students, with content available in Hindi, English, Telugu and Kannada. Early indicators are very promising: 62% of students report improved emotional well-being and 20% of teachers have observed greater openness among students to discuss their mental health.

Backed by a strong, mission-driven founding team and early results from its work in government schools, Atman is now gearing up to scale its operations and impact. This next phase is not just about reaching more students, it is about proving that mental health care, when timely, relevant and rooted in local context, can be delivered effectively within India’s public systems. ACT will support Atman in this scale-up that will reach 3 million students across 11,000 schools in Haryana and Chhattisgarh. Beyond catalytic funding, ACT will collaborate closely with the Atman team on product development and implementation strategy to help realize this bold, systems-level vision.

By placing mental well-being at the heart of school systems, Atman is helping build a generation of resilient, self-aware young people, and we are proud to be part of this journey. 

Mental health remains one of the most invisible and underserved challenges in India, especially for adolescent girls. In a country where stigma is widespread and fewer than 1 trained mental health professional is available per 100,000 people, early intervention is often a distant reality. The barriers are not only socio-cultural but also structural, with limited access to care, predominantly English-language tools and a lack of scalable solutions.

In 2022, ACT For Health partnered with Wysa to explore whether technology could help bridge this critical gap. Our capital catalyzed Wysa, a globally recognized AI-based mental health chatbot, to adapt to Hindi and piloted across underserved communities including adolescent girls, women and blue-collar workers. The goal was to test through pilots whether tech-first solutions could offer meaningful emotional support to those excluded from traditional systems of care.

The results were compelling. Through strategic partnerships, Wysa’s Hindi application reached over 6,000 users across Bharat, many of whom were accessing mental health support for the first time. The users reported improved emotional well-being and high satisfaction, with a strong percentage returning to use the tool multiple times. The team learned that framing the offering around ‘resilience’ and ‘life skills’ worked better than a clinical lens, leading to a rebrand as Vyasa – Mann ka coach jo badle soch, a refreshed app experience and support for Indian languages beyond Hindi (e.g. Marathi). The pilot also unlocked a promising B2G pathway and validated a hybrid model, combining in-person onboarding with digital engagement, as key to driving adoption.

With promising proof points and a strong, mission-driven founding team committed to building for Bharat, ACT is backing Wysa’s next phase of growth: a scaled pilot reaching 20,000 adolescent girls across Maharashtra through partnerships with the state government and community-based organizations. This phase is not just about scaling usage but about demonstrating that timely, relevant and culturally rooted mental health care can be effectively delivered within public systems. In addition to funding, ACT will support Wysa on product development, implementation strategy and strengthening the ecosystem needed to build trust among users and public health stakeholders. 

This partnership aims to change how mental health support is perceived and delivered across India. By combining the power of localized technology with institutional partnerships, Wysa and ACT are working to ensure that every adolescent girl in Bharat has access to the care she needs when she needs it and in a way that feels safe and accessible. Together, we are taking steps toward a future where mental health is no longer a privilege, but a right for all!

Recognised by the UN as the world’s 50th Digital Public Good, CARE is an open-source digital platform developed by the Open Health Care Network and backed by ACT For Health since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Designed to help India manage the unprecedented strain on its public health infrastructure, CARE enabled the National Health Mission to coordinate care for over 355,000 patients, including 130,000 ambulance shifts and 200,000 telemedicine calls between March 2020 and May 2022. During the Delta wave, CARE powered the launch of 10BedICU, a smart ICU solution that made it possible to remotely leverage the expertise of critical care specialists nationwide and optimize ICU operations especially in remote geographies. Since then, 10BedICU has served over 100,000 patients across 10+ states.

CARE’s impact has reinforced our belief that open-source digital infrastructure can serve as a powerful foundation for India’s public health systems, but building the technology is only part of the equation. Achieving meaningful, sustainable impact in public health requires an equal focus on implementing such technologies, building the capacity to use them, and integrating them into existing systems to unlock scale. 

To scale across states and benefit more patients, we’re supporting eGov Foundation in scaling CARE’S Hospital Management Information System (HMIS) across 4 states – Karnataka, Assam, Manipur, and Jharkhand – as part of a five-year initiative to drive national adoption. 

Since its inception in 2003, eGov has proven its ability to scale digital infrastructure in close partnership with governments. Its successful implementation of the 10BedICU program has highlighted the effectiveness of CARE’s open-source architecture and  catalyzed interest in extending CARE beyond critical care in public healthcare, towards a comprehensive Health Management Information System (HMIS). Accelerated through a pilot supported by ACT, implemented by eGov and backed by participating state governments, the goal is to build a replicable, scalable model for HMIS deployment and lay the foundation for a responsive, data-driven and inclusive public healthcare system. 

Five years after COVID-19 first tested our public health infrastructure, this grant reflects both how far we have come and our renewed commitment to catalyzing the adoption of digital public goods that can act as the building blocks of India’s digital health stack!

India carries 28% of the world’s TB burden and yet, millions with symptoms go undiagnosed and untreated. While testing is free in the public health system and treatment adherence is strong (~89%), early detection remains the weakest link – fueling ongoing transmission, worsening outcomes, and stalling progress. Initiatives like the 100-day campaign and active case finding show intent, but diagnosis still lags, especially in low-resource, peripheral areas. Existing screening tools such as microscopy are often unreliable, inaccessible, or unfit for scale, and frontline workers are overstretched. With the government bearing testing costs, the need for smarter, cost-effective screening solutions has never been more urgent.

This has sparked demand for low-cost, open, and interoperable systems that can leverage the diagnostic infrastructure developed during COVID, to decentralize screening and point of care testing solutions that can fuel last mile, decentralized testing in low resource settings, without driving up costs.

Founded by Dr. Rachana Tripathi and Dr. Shesheer Kumar, seasoned molecular biologists with deep expertise in affordable RT-PCR and POC diagnostics, Huwel is a next-gen molecular diagnostics company deploying a dual-platform strategy to make TB detection faster, easier, and accessible at the last mile. With over two decades of combined experience and a track record of building indigenous diagnostic solutions, the founders are spearheading efforts to bridge the gap between lab-grade accuracy and field-ready accessibility. Huwel’s approach aims to strengthen early case detection, reduce diagnostic delays, and support India’s goal of TB elimination by 2025.

QuantiPlus is Huwel’s ICMR-validated, extraction-free molecular test that runs on any RT-PCR device and delivers rapid, sample-agnostic results. UniAmp is the portable, fully integrated device built for point-of-care use that detects TB from any sample without lab dependency. Together, the two allow TB to be tested for and identified within an hour. Both the solutions have been validated by ICMR and recommended for national use by the Central TB Division. With a proven track record in infectious disease diagnostics like HCV and COVID-19, Huwel brings deep molecular biology expertise and products designed to scale across both public health programs and decentralized field settings. 

ACT’s grant to Huwel will support a pilot across four high-burden states – Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, and Uttarakhand – to evaluate the feasibility of decentralized TB screening in real-world public health settings. This effort brings together Huwel’s diagnostic innovation with CHRI’s field implementation expertise and strong government partnerships. The grant will enable comprehensive training and handholding for ASHAs, PHC staff, and other frontline workers to integrate the solution into daily workflows. CHRI will lead field operations, ensure quality delivery, track outcomes, and liaise with state and district health systems. With per-test costs up to 80–90% lower than existing solutions, this pilot has the potential to dramatically improve affordability for low-income states, expand TB screening reach, and build the case for integrating decentralized tools into the National TB Elimination Programme.

ACT For Health is proud to back Huwel’s high-impact innovation and support this collaboration with CHRI and the pilot states – combining scientific innovation with implementation excellence to strengthen India’s TB response where it’s needed most!

 

For more than 2.6 million people across India, a persistent cough or fever is more than just a passing ailment—it’s a looming threat, a warning sign of a disease that claims thousands of lives each year. Tuberculosis (TB) remains one of India’s most pressing public health challenges, disproportionately affecting the country’s most vulnerable populations.

The government’s National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) has made notable progress, but critical gaps remain. Millions still go undiagnosed or do not complete treatment due to social stigma, lack of awareness, and weak frontline support. Frontline workers, responsible for over 22 diseases, are stretched thin, making it difficult to provide personalized care to TB patients

To address this, Karnataka Health Promotion Trust (KHPT), a leader in public health interventions, has developed Sangaati—a voice-based digital companion designed to enhance TB awareness and treatment adherence. By utilizing vernacular voice technology, Sangaati overcomes language and literacy barriers, ensuring critical TB-related information is accessible to the most vulnerable populations. With a validated knowledge base of over 3,000 questions from NTEP, Sangaati equips frontline workers, caregivers, and persons with TB (PwTB) with critical information to improve health outcomes. 

KHPT has piloted Sangaati in 17 districts, gathering user feedback and refine this voice-based digital companion. With a phased approach, gradually expanding to high-burden states, the goal is national integration, ensuring that the tool becomes a key component of India’s TB response strategy.  The app’s usability, impact on treatment adherence, and user engagement are being measured through longitudinal health outcomes such as improvement in adherence rate, TB literacy improvement, and user satisfaction resulting from reduced stigma and ultimately overcoming information asymmetry.

Founded in 2003, KHPT has tackled public health challenges among marginalised populations across India in areas like HIV/AIDS, TB, MNCH, Adolescent Health and Primary Health care with a focus on social determinants of health. Over two decades, it has expanded to 20 states, impacting over 15 million people through evidence-based and community-centric programs. Now, with Sangaati, KHPT is making its first foray into digital transformation, harnessing technology to accelerate and deepen the impact of its public health expertise, strong government collaborations, and a commitment to empowering and reaching the unreached communities. 

ACT For Health is now supporting KHPT to scale Sangaati by driving widespread adoption in Karnataka – which shoulders 3-4% of the national TB burden (80k-100k) -, generating robust evidence from its deployment, and rigorously testing its scalability for expansion into new languages and states. This partnership also marks a pivotal shift in KHPT’s journey—one that could open new pathways for integrating tech-driven public health solutions across its broader portfolio.

At ACT For Health, we are excited to support KHPT’s mission to empower patients, caregivers, and health workers to enhance TB prevention and treatment for India’s most underserved communities through a tech-enabled approach!

 

Across India, over 1.3 million community health workers —including ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists) and ANMs (Auxiliary Nurse Midwives)—work tirelessly to bring healthcare to the nation’s hardest-to-reach communities. These health workers are often the first and only link to healthcare for populations in rural areas, urban slums, migratory groups, and families with low health literacy. Yet, despite their invaluable role, community health workers face immense challenges due to inefficient, paper-based reporting systems and fragmented digital health tools. These issues contribute to data inconsistencies, misaligned health targets, and delayed remuneration leaving community health workers overburdened and spending over 25 million hours each month on redundant data entry. Without real-time, high-quality data, public health officials are limited in their ability to drive targeted actions and data-driven decision-making.

Khushi Baby is a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving primary healthcare through digital tools by empowering health workers, partners, and governments to build integrated health systems and enable data-driven decision-making. With its Comprehensive Integrated Health Platform (CHIP), Khushi Baby has created a single, unified interface to streamline data collection, remuneration, and real-time tracking across primary healthcare programs. This allows community health workers to focus on what truly matters—caring for their communities—while providing public health officials with hyperlocal insights to make informed, data-driven decisions.

Founded in 2014 by Ruchit Nagar and Mohammed Shahnawaz, Khushi Baby has grown from a maternal and child health solution to a health system solution using a tech-first approach. This is evident through Khushi Baby’s CHIP model.. Initially launched in Rajasthan, the platform has onboarded 75,000 community health workers and integrated 12 vertical health programs, reaching over 46 million people across 40,000 villages. By digitizing health records, Khushi Baby enables seamless data sharing, facilitates early interventions in high-risk pregnancies, improves vaccination rates, and supports community health workers in reducing malnutrition as the technical nodal partner to the Ministries of Health.

ACT For Health is now supporting Khushi Baby to scale this proven model to the state of Karnataka, building a new and improved version of CHIP as an open-source Digital Public Good (DPG) and laying the groundwork for similar efforts in Maharashtra. “ CHIP 2.0” is projected to reach a total of 100 million citizens at the last mile and empower a total of 150,000 ASHA workers at a cost per beneficiary of 2.62 INR. This open-source approach not only provides a pathway for Karnataka but also paves the way for other states to adopt and tailor similar digital health solutions.

At ACT For Health, we are excited to support Khushi Baby’s mission to empower health workers and enhance primary healthcare delivery for India’s most underserved communities through a tech-enabled approach!

India’s mental health crisis is a silent epidemic that affects over 197 million people, with 70-90% of mental illnesses remaining untreated. Factors such as lack of awareness, deep-rooted stigma and a significant resource gap – with <1 psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers per 100,000 people – contribute to the growing severity.

 

To address these challenges ACT partnered with AdagioVR in 2023 – an early-stage start-up making Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy available to the vulnerable communities through virtual reality. The therapy program entails working with the user to  identify core target issues and delivering personalised VR sessions with facilitator support. With ACT’s support AdagioVR launched their first pilot in India, delivering EMDR therapy to 150 members of the transgender community in partnership with MITR Trust. The pilot helped validate the effectiveness of AdagioVR’s solutions with:

 

• A 93% reduction in depression/ stress levels and 90% reduction in trauma impact

• Unlocking a partnership with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) for an ICMR-funded clinical study in leading hospitals in Delhi
• Onboarding various NGOs and Corporates as clients in B2B segment

 

Given such strong outcomes and traction, ACT For Health is excited to double down on AdagioVR with a follow-on grant to help them establish a product market fit for the Bharat audience through product testing on a diverse user cohort of 3-5K, and to enable them to experiment with pricing models to identify a revenue generation model viable for grassroots and government, while building a strong team. 

 

We look forward to partnering with AdagioVR in making quality and affordable mental healthcare accessible to Bharat!

 

Of India’s population, 68% – or 900 million people – live in rural communities. Yet 80% of healthcare infrastructure and manpower is located in urban areas, with residents there living five years longer, on average, than their rural counterparts.

A typical household in Bharat spends a large portion of its income on healthcare expenses that skyrocket during a health crisis, with less than 1% of the rural population covered by insurance. This financial strain, combined with the loss of income associated with travelling to urban areas for treatment, causes many patients to delay seeking medical care. These delays contribute to worsened health outcomes and ultimately higher treatment costs. Additionally, purely digital solutions have shown limited potential to address these problems as a significant portion of the rural population struggles with levels of digital literacy and maintains a strong preference for physical interaction.

Medoplus, a healthcare startup founded in 2020 by Dr. Prakash Bakshi, Neeraj Chandra, and Shekhar Yerramilli, is committed to addressing these primary healthcare challenges in rural India sustainably, leveraging the founding team’s collective experience of over 50 years in executing large-scale initiatives and a deep understanding of rural communities. Over the last 4 years, MedoPlus has operated an online platform that connects rural patients with qualified healthcare providers – including doctors, labs, and hospitals – from primary to tertiary care. Platform users can map symptoms to the appropriate healthcare professional, search for nearby providers, book virtual or in-person appointments and tests, pay digitally at discounted rates, and securely store their medical records.

Given the low levels of digital literacy in rural India, Medoplus operates through a network of local health agents who assist patients in navigating the platform and the healthcare system. Through this model, Medoplus has unlocked quality and affordable primary care for 275,000 patients in Uttar Pradesh, resulting in a savings of 600,000 hours in waiting time and INR 3 crore in direct healthcare costs for these patients. Medoplus has observed a clear preference among patients for in-person consultations, with many opting to delay their healthcare visits by several days, even when teleconsultation options were available. In response to this trend, Medoplus is excited to launch a cluster-based e-clinic model designed to better meet these preferences, while ensuring access to high-quality and affordable primary healthcare in a sustainable manner.

With ACT’s support, over the next 14 months, Medoplus will test this cluster-based e-clinic model that harnesses technology and a community-driven service model. These eclinics, staffed by a rotating team of five specialists, will facilitate doctor consultations, medicine purchases and pathology testing closer to home for over 100,000 patients in Uttar Pradesh’ Barabanki district. The patients will also benefit from a network of community health workers, supporting their health journeys at these clinics and across the secondary and tertiary levels of care via the Medoplus app.

At ACT For Health, we look forward to catalysing impactful healthcare solutions by funding Medoplus’s initiatives towards improving access to quality and affordable primary care for patients in rural India, while setting the foundation for a scalable and sustainable model!

India faces a significant challenge with visual impairment, accounting for one-fifth of the global disease burden. Recent surveys suggest that nearly 62 million Indians encounter visual impairment, with conditions like diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration increasing in prevalence due to the ageing population as well as the high occurrence of NCDs like diabetes and hypertension that cause ophthalmological complications. At the same time, uncorrected refractive error significantly burdens public health, as approximately 60% of visually impaired individuals require corrective measures. These errors can diminish productivity and hamper learning, particularly in school children. Furthermore, they may pose safety risks to the public when professionals such as drivers suffer from these conditions.

While technological innovations in ophthalmic screening have been around for decades, most of the routine screening devices are expensive, bulky, and not suitable for resource-limited settings. For example, a table top fundus camera used routinely in ophthalmic clinics can range from Rs. 15 to 20 lakhs. This has made widespread screening difficult outside of well-equipped urban centres, leaving many without access to essential eye care services.

There is an urgent need to develop and deploy innovations that are not only affordable but also portable and digitally enabled for tele-medicine applications, which could operate under resource constrained settings. Forus Health, a holistic digital ophthalmology platform that unifies devices, specialists, and AI to deliver comprehensive eye screening services globally, is addressing this gap in a big way – their proprietary hand-held autorefractors and non-mydriatic fundus cameras are designed to screen for refractive errors and retinopathy respectively in resource constrained settings without the need to dilate pupils.They have undergone rigorous clinical and field testing in multiple reputed institutions and have been certified by CE and USFDA. 

Our grant support to Forus, in collaboration with the Karnataka Department of Health and C-Camp, has enabled the deployment of Forus’ fundus cameras (3nethra series camera) at Primary Health Centers (PHCs) and Community Health Centers (CHCs) across Karnataka to operationalise tele-ophthalmology in a hub and spoke model. In these centres, optometrists would capture and upload retinal images on a cloud-based digital platform, allowing ophthalmologists at district hospitals to review the images at their convenience and recommend follow-up actions for patients. This model allows for easy access and timely referral for retinal conditions at the periphery and given the high patient volumes at these centres, the auto refractometer assists optometrists in quickly optimising prescriptions, thereby reducing the turnaround time.

Scaling in public health demands evidence from real-world settings, optimization of workflows and resources, and clear demonstrations of improvements and benefits over existing eye screening methods, along with the ability to build capacity within the system at scale. It must show volume and agility with improved quality of healthcare delivery. This deployment in KA’s public health settings aims to generate such evidence. It will help scale this initiative to the entire KA state and integrate technology-driven solutions into wider public health settings. 

As ACT For Health, we look forward to catalysing Forus to drive an improvement in the accessibility and quality of eye care, especially among underserved populations like school children and rural populations. At a larger level, we also expect that the use of AI and telemedicine platforms will also  boost the capacity to manage and treat eye conditions effectively at the primary care level​. Our ongoing commitment to this initiative is aimed at creating a sustainable and scalable model of eye care that aligns with our mission to enhance the quality of life through appropriate healthcare innovation!

 

India’s mental health crisis affects over 197 million people, with 70-90% of mental illnesses remaining untreated. This silent epidemic disproportionately impacts marginalized groups, including the LGBTQIA+ community, who are three times more likely to attempt suicide. Factors such as over-pathologization, deep-seated stigma, and a shortage of trained queer-affirmative therapists contribute to the disparity in mental health care for the queer community.

To address these challenges, ACT For Health is proud to support Evolve—a digital mental health platform specifically designed for the LGBTQIA+ community. Evolve aims to improve mental health outcomes for the queer community by addressing ‘minority stress’ and positively shifting user habits and behaviours through its 3Cs approach: Content, Community, and Coaching. This method offers customised support, including wellness resources, community support groups, and queer-affirmative therapy, addressing key issues like sexual and reproductive health, gender dysphoria, and violence, among others. 

Digital platforms like Evolve are promising because they provide confidential, remote access to care with fewer resources. Tailoring support to LGBTQIA+ needs has proven effective, yet interventions in India remain limited. Evolve’s mobile-first and tailored approach shows strong potential for offering accessible, affordable, and high-quality services.

ACT’s support will enable Evolve to expand its base by over 100,000 users in India and enhance its offerings through vernacular content and B2B2C partnerships with NGOs, CSR initiatives, and corporates. This initiative aims to position Evolve as the leading mental health resource for the LGBTQIA+ community and improve access for underserved communities. We are excited to support Evolve’s mission to deliver better mental health outcomes to more than a million people!