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Sandeep Ahuja
Sandeep Ahuja came to GPHAP with a mission: to bring medical facilities to the doorsteps of millions of slum dwellers in Delhi, India. Putting his vision into practice didn’t take him long. Within two months of completing GPHAP and graduating from the Harris School of Public Policy in 2006, Sandeep launched a nonprofit organization, Operation ASHA, which has been making a difference in the health and lives of thousands who would otherwise go without medical services. In August 2006, Operation Asha opened its free community health clinic, where two primary care physicians provide treatment for day-to-day illnesses to 4500 patients each month, free of charge. The cost of an entire treatment is 60 cents per patient, including consultation and medicines. Then Operation ASHA directed its focus to tuberculosis treatment. TB has attained epidemic proportions in India with 2.2 million new cases and 400,000 deaths in 2006. The Indian economy suffers a loss of $3 billion annually on account of the disease. Within a year, Operation Asha has become the largest nonprofit in Delhi in TB treatment with 34 treatment centers that serve 475 patients. It has evolved a new paradigm by taking the treatment to the doorsteps of the poor, which involves the community and reduces costs drastically. The cost of treating each patient is $10. Leveraging existing community resources, Operation Asha has delivered care in an highly cost-effective manner: with a donation of $1, patients receive $35 worth of treatment. Visit their website www.opasha.org for details.
Operation ASHA has a special relationship with Chicago. It is registered as a 501c3 nonprofit organizations. To raise funds, Operation Asha holds a fundraising dinner every year which is organized by an interdisciplinary array of students, including GHPAP, SSA, Harris, GSB, Law and Pritzker Medical School in collaboration with other medical schools in the greater Chicago area. This year, the dinner will be held on February 28 at The University Club of Chicago,76 East Monroe Street.
Sandeep and Shelly Batra, MD, his colleague, will also deliver a course on international health problems at Harris School in February 2008. Details are available on the Harris School website: http://harrisschool.uchicago.edu/Programs/courses/mini-courses/winter08-batraahuja.asp.
Certainly, the success of Project Asha can be attributed to Sandeep’s passion, drive and commitment, as well as the partnerships he has formed in Delhi and Chicago. At GPHAP, we’re proud to have played a small role in preparing Sandeep to make a difference.
“GHPAP provided me with the tools, expertise and confidence to expand the work that had been going on in Delhi for a decade. The core curriculum provides sufficient depth. The course on financial management is a must for anyone aspiring to a top position. Simultaneously, the electives provide wide choice to tailor the program to one’s needs. The faculty is top notch and administration is highly responsive to students’ needs and always willing to help. I am happy I enrolled in the GHPAP program.”
- Sandeep Ahuja, GPHAP 2006
Upcoming Deadlines:
GPHAP Admission and Ray E. Brown Recruitment Fellowship Deadlines are July 15, 2008
PHOTOS! Spring 2008 Alumni-Student Cocktail Reception...
GPHAP is proud to announce the names of our Erikson Hospital Fellows, HERE...
More information on our Fellowships can be seen HERE.
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