Drones to digital: Asia, Africa find ways to plug Covid health gaps

Since launching in 2017, Sehat Kahani has established 35 rural telemedicine clinics across Pakistan where, for a small fee, a patient can see a nurse who will link them via the platform to a doctor. — 123rf.com

LONDON: As Covid-19 strains Pakistan’s health system, tens of thousands of women doctors are sitting at home, their talents squandered in a country where millions have no access to medical care.

Many families encourage their daughters to study medicine not for a career, but to bolster their marriage prospects. The phenomenon even has a name – “doctor-brides”.