TFHI is a public health initiative of Taaleem Foundation – an NGO striving to educate and engineer social change in the remote and under-privileged areas of Pakistan.

TFHI was born in Zhob (Fort Sandeman - Balochistan) during 1991, when Taaleem Foundation ventured in providing ‘School Health Services’ to the students and teachers of ‘Taaleem Foundation Grammar School System’, which at that time, comprised of only schools, one each at Kohlu and Zhob. Later when Taaleem Foundation’s operation grew in expansion, so did its health initiative.

The expansion goes on – not only in terms of geographical coverage but also in the range of services offered. Starting from simply recording basic primary health care indicators of the target communities of teachers, students and their parents, the organization grew in offering social mobilization in public health, quality education, livelihood trainings and gender mainstreaming. It further invested its time, energy and resources in bridging the gap between the public sector professionals and private sector health operators. Linking the two is never so easy, but given the access and acceptability of its mother body, ie Taaleem Foundation in the communities, the TFHI thrives on adding the building blocks to climb up the ladder as a reliable service provider in this sector. TFHI has come up a long way in building the participatory development capacity of the target communities and issue-based networking.

“A healthy, tolerant, just and prosperous society that delivers good to humanity”

Promoting public health initiatives in mainstream development portfolio with a view to minimize risk of disease burden in Pakistan.

• Baseline surveys / data mapping on situational analysis and gap analysis.
• Research and evaluation studies / reports on public health interventions.
• Health system strengthening through socio-technological mix of solutions for delivering low-cost, high efficiency and quick fix products.
• Formulation and appraisal of public health related concept notes and proposals in line with national / provincial policies / priorities and donors’ guidelines.
• Implementation of health initiatives with professional approach, ensuring total quality management of service delivery.
• Supervision, monitoring and evaluation of community health / public health projects / programs.
• Providing hardware / software based solutions to improve data compilation, collation, analysis and dissemination.
• Procurement and supply chain management of health supplies / cold chain.
• Financial management modeling for improved health service delivery.
• Human resource development for health sector operations, regulation and management.
• Networking with the public sector health institutions, regulatory bodies and policy forums.
• Liaison with health sector players in private sector for better integration and healthy competition.
• Developing public private partnership for cohesive and integrated health solutions and judicious division of labor.
• Advocacy and awareness for communities at large, promoting acceptance and ownership for public health initiatives.
• Social mobilization of individuals and institutions for improved health spending.
• Supporting women and other vulnerable groups in distress for health assistance through legal / financial aid.
• Prioritizing women empowerment and participatory development initiatives.
• Enhancing women participation in access to capital and opportunities.
• Mobilizing insurance industry at home and abroad to partner in health related insurance coverage to add resilience against any epidemic / disaster situation.
• Linkages with potential partners in development / donors for technical / financial assistance.
• Developing, promoting and regular updating of ‘Public Health Awareness Toolbox.
• Planning and organizing dialogues, seminars / workshops / symposia / study visits.
• Promoting self-help initiatives of NGOs/CBOs working in health sector for their growth into more vibrant institutions.
• Facilitating a program approach towards prioritizing health, education, skills, livelihood and capacity building for enhancing productivity in human resource.
• Focus on the cross cutting themes of gender, equity, peace and tolerance.

TFHI is headquartered in Islamabad, with its regional offices in the provinces and federating units.

Under the overall guidance of its parent body – Taaleem Foundation – the TFHI management combines visionary management, public health professionalism and financial expertise. Networking and institutional collaboration is a strong area of TFHI.

TFHI works on the model of collaborative partnership, supplementing and complementing the efforts within the network of partner organizations having similarity of thought and preferences. TFHI, in a short span of time, has been able to develop its institutional linkages across the country; and is emerging as a major player in public health related initiatives in the country.

TFHI team is headed by Mrs Shagufta Zafar – the Chairperson – who has a long standing experience of having raised Taaleem Foundation as its founding member of the Board of Directors in 1989; and having spearheaded the human relations component of the organization all along. She is also the managing partner of the organization.

Public Health Wing of TFHI is headed by Dr Farah Naz – the CEO – who is a renowned health professional, known for her skill-mix of competence, dedication, commitment, creativity, initiative, drive, passion and humanitarianism in the development sector. She carries a rich experience to her credit, of having worked with UNICEF, Merci Corps and World Health Organization.

Mr Farhan-ul-Haq –the CFO – who is a certified finance professional with strong credentials, heads the Finance Wing of TFHI.

The regional offices are managed by the CEOs of respective partner organizations, in close coordination with the TFHI Head Office.

TFHI believes in collaborative partnership both at individual and institutional level, making way for participatory culture of deliberations and trying for consensus building where possible. The team works as a family of professionals working for a common cause – serving the humanity.

TFHI is a strong advocate for the rights of humanity and equitable access to livelihood opportunities and quality of life. ‘Humanity First’ is the core theme of this organization. Everything else becomes subservient. Irrespective of the color, cast, creed, religion and nationality, the TFHI is obligated to serve each member of humanity with same disposition and spirit.

TFHI takes due pride in uprightness and commitment to cause; and is fully entrenched to ensure service delivery within defined timeframe and other parameters. This keeps us focused on the most essentials elements of the programs and helps achieve the targets with good grace.

TFHI has adopted global best practices in transparency and fair play. The data mapping and dissemination tools would display and highlight all activities through a web portal for public information and scrutiny. Procurement of goods and services is done in most transparent manner to make best use of market competition in accordance with pre-notified procurement rules. TFHI has zero tolerance policy regarding the misuse of resources or any kind of discrepancies.

TFHI has set up a dedicated IT-based infrastructure to support logistic and supply chain management related operations. ERP (Electronic Resource Planning) is an important segment of our logistic support system. Tracking of goods movement and inventory control functions add much value to efficiency and timely delivery of goods and services.

TFHI has adopted ‘NGO Financial Management Pocket Guide’ – a publication of ‘Price Waterhouse Cooper’ in 2007, as primary source of financial management tools and rules to ensure effective and world-class financial control over the system.

TFHI believes in total quality management in terms of services offered. The processes and operating procedures involved in planning, implementation, supervision, monitoring and evaluation of all programs and projects are focused on ultimate quality assurance. At times, this component is also outsourced to more competent players in the market.

TFHI, with openness to its systems and procedures always welcomes third party evaluation and validation for systemic checks and balances. Performance evaluation and assessment reports are valued with great interest to apply mid-course corrections to the grey areas if reported.

TFHI having the skill and expertise in business process re-engineering in the sector of public health governance remains available to help any organization / entity for carrying out gap analysis and adding value to their operations through business process re-engineering. Besides, TFHI also remains open to apply BPR on its own business model whenever deemed necessary.

TFHI thrives on its time tested ‘Standard Operating Procedures’ of monitoring and evaluation; and believes in value for money, when it comes to measuring performance through qualitative as well as quantitative indicators. TFHI has a defined monitoring and evaluation system of screening its procedural mechanisms and developmental spending. The pre-defined reporting formats, trainings, workshops, audio-video visuals, internal staff monitoring visits and other tools are used to keep check and balance on activities.

TFHI has a team of dedicated and competent professionals who excel in their level of expertise. The qualitative management structures add great value to the quality of services offered. Competence and competitiveness are our main stay.

Social mobilization, advocacy & research, public health, reproductive health, education & training, poverty reduction and sustainable development are the areas of priority. The most effective tool in implementing these interventions is social mobilization and Community Empowerment.

TFHI – through its institutional partners – has strong physical presence in the following locations of the country:

TFHI is providing specialized consultancy services to Taaleem Foundation, which is the market leader in Pakistan in spearheading the ‘School Health Services’ since 1991 as a regular feature in mainstream education. It is continuously providing primary health care technical assistance to a student body of 4,000 in ‘Taaleem Foundation Grammar School System’ in Balochistan.

TFHI has made effective inroads into the community, through social mobilization and advocacy campaigns on safe health practices, hygiene and nutrition. Public health awareness is a priority area in community outreach, focusing messages on eradication of polio, TB, malaria and other epidemics in the area. Reducing risk factors of HIV / AIDS also remains on the radar of social mobilizers with utmost conviction and sincerity, while having dialogue with communities at large.

Our lead partner in technology - SocioTechno Associates (www.sociotechno.net) - has undertaken many a projects delivering social development through imparting quality education with technological interface. It has rolled out e-learning, e-education, e-health, Tele-medicine and e-skills platforms in various parts of the country through its constituent organizations, i.e. Taaleem Foundation (www.taaleem.pk), PhoneCast (www.phonecast.tv) and TeleCare (www.telecare.mobi); the later being a specialized company providing technology based health care solutions to a variety of clients in Pakistan and abroad.

Taaleem Foundation is also an affiliate body of NIMSS (National Institute of Medical and Social Sciences: www.nimss.edu.pk), which provides training to allied health professionals in Pakistan using e-learning platform in affiliation with the Harvard Medical School, USA.

TFHI – through its institutional partners – has implemented several projects on health, hygiene and nutrition. Establishment of more than 50 Tele-health clinics and medical referral hubs in Pakistan bears testimony to this fact.

Some of the key issues challenges for deployment of ICT in Heath sector in Pakistan are:

• Socioeconomic and development constraints like Tele-accessibility and poor information technology distribution in health sector.
• Technology infrastructure and operational issues mainly low per capita investment in health sector.
• Imperfect markets in terms of connectivity and speed.
• Entry barriers for service providers and firms for export of technology, royalties and licensing.
• Lack of skilled and committed human resources resulting in major education and research divide.
• Misguided vision of ICT of public health authorities in adopting ICT solution hasten the further induction and even the demise of public healthcare services incapable of competing with an IT enabled private sector.
• ICT standardization issues, primarily accreditation for processes and procedures.
• Lack of security and privacy, protection of health record against intrusion, unauthorized use, data corruption, intentional or unintentional damage, theft and fraud.
• Low quality of publicly available information, which is difficult to ascertain and recommend on the credibility, motives, sponsorship & eventual conflict of interest in more than 50,000 health website in existence.

Human development is the basic right of every individual and health is a pre-requisite for the socio-economic development. Health is an entry-point towards prosperity and reducing poverty. The links between ill health and poverty are well known. Ill health contributes to poverty due to "catastrophic costs" of illness and reduced earning capacity during illness. Poor people suffer disproportionately from disease and are at higher risk of dying from their illness than are better off and healthier individuals. Women and children are particularly vulnerable. Illness keeps children away from schools, decreasing their chances of productive adulthood.

Telemedicine covers various communication modalities and is not a single technology. This ranges from the use of sophisticated video conferencing and other conferencing modalities, through Web-based provider patient communication systems, to the use of basic telephone service.

It is defined as the delivery of health care and the sharing of medical knowledge over a distance using telecommunications. Telemedicine or Tele-health is a term given to offering remote care to people, providing the care and reassurance needed to allow them to remain living healthily in their own homes.

The use of wired or wireless medical sensors may be part of a package, which can provide support for people with serious illnesses or people at risk of falling.

Most Tele-health services mitigate harm by reacting to untoward events and raising a help response quickly. Some Tele-health services, such as safety confirmation and lifestyle monitoring have a preventive function in that deterioration in the user's well being can be spotted at an early stage.

Tele-care refers to the idea of enabling people to remain independent in their own homes by providing person-centered technologies to support the individual.

In one of its form, it can be referred to a fixed or mobile telephone with a connection to a monitoring center through which the user can raise an alarm. Technologically more advanced systems use sensors, whereby a range of potential risks can be monitored. These may include falls, as well as environmental changes in the home such as floods, fire and gas leaks. When a sensor is activated it sends a radio signal to a central unit in the user's home, which then automatically calls a 24-hour monitoring center, where trained operators can take appropriate action, whether it be contacting a local key holder, doctor or the emergency services.

Tele-care also comprises of standalone Tele-center which does not send signals to a response center but supports users through providing local (in-house) alerts in a person's home to let the user know when he / she requires attention.

The interactive nature of communication between the Centre and remote Tele-health clinic / e-clinic, used by our partner organizations (Taaleem Foundation and TeleCare) is described in the following diagram:

TFHI, in association with its technology partner – Socio-Techno Associates – implemented a number of projects in health sector and continues to facilitate public health solutions as indicated below.

• Established Tele-health services at Badin (Sindh) in 2011
• Established Mobile e-clinic at Layyah (Punjab) in 2010
• Established first Medical Call Center with Pakistan Medical Association –PMA and Radio Pakistan–in 2007
• Established most modern and state of the art “Healthcare Support System” at Karachi that provides
• 24/7 Medical Call Center at Karachi
• Lifeline – Care & Connectivity.
• Remote Patient Monitoring Service
• Home (Mobile) Doctor
• ICT enabled Mobile Clinics
• Continued Medical Education (CME) through IPTV Service
• Medicine Alerts (SMS, Emails or outbound calls)
• 0900 / 0800 Health Information Service Bureau
• Tele-Health through Video & Audio Conference
• Healthcare services for Overseas Pakistanis.

• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Sui
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Zhob
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Loralai
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Pishin
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Mastung
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Kila Saifullah
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Muslim Bagh
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Kohlu
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Dalbadin
• Tele-health unit / E-clinic at Gwadar
• Video-streaming of EMR and related data from remote locations
• Video-streaming of contents for vocational, technical and occupational skills through Tele-centers for skill enhancement of communities
• Introducing kiosks through Tele-centers at remote locations for e-commerce
• Live broadcast of events / conferences through laptops and handheld devices at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad / Rawalpindi

• TeleCare worked with USAID –John Hopkin's initiative for Mother-care called PAIMAN for 13 districts of Pakistan-in 2008-9
• First to launch an Inbound medical support service for Overseas Pakistani expats in UAE in 2009
• Awarded support and grant from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for HIMS (Hospital Information Medical Systems)
• Our Mother & Child e-Health project have been recommended for grant from Research & Advocacy Fund – DIFID-UK funded initiative
• Pakistan’s only ISO 9001-2008 certified Medical Call Center by TQSI.
• Our Mother & Child Tele health project nominated for Gold medals in 3 categories, in Contact Center Awards 2010, Gold Coast, Australia
• India’s largest e-India awards 2010 nominated –our Mother & Child project in the best private sector ICT based health initiative in the region.