Recipient of the British Council's Outstanding Achievers Award for Social Impact. Dr. Ruma is a senior global health strategist with close to two decades of experience driving health equity, digital health innovations, and large-scale immunization programs across emerging markets. She currently leads the Mental Health Initiative at the World Economic Forum partnering with over 50 global organizations for workplace wellbeing. Her work with the International Red Cross strengthened COVID-19 preparedness across 38 APAC country offices, while her evaluation of India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)—the world’s largest immunization program—benefitted 26 million children and 30 million pregnant women annually.
Dr Ruma is also the Founder of Samarpann (https://samarpann.org/), an NGO working for health and education of over 40,000 children in rural India. She is an adjunct professor at Manipal University, writes vociferously on social impact as an international columnist, and is a Chevening Fellow at the University of Oxford.
The doctor-patient relationship is the key to realizing the overall ambition of health for all in India with patient-centric approaches to increase trust.
Tobacco kills over 8 million people globally each year. Government action is needed to help people quit the habit and force the industry to pay for its environmental impact.
National policies and the international collaboration must foster innovation – while not infringing on technological access for downstream innovations and vaccine accessibility.
A healthy mouth, teeth and gums can have surprising impacts on the rest of your body. Find out more on World Oral Health Day.
The disruptions COVID-19 have generated come with a steep cost. At present, 38 million children worldwide are entirely lacking schooling.
We need to transform the quality of cancer care by harnessing emerging technologies like AI and ML. We asked experts which technologies will shape the future of cancer care.
India is undertaking a massive drive to vaccinate its population against COVID-19, but less than half of those getting the vaccines are women. Here's why.
Artificial intelligence is successfully being used to identify and treat cancer whilst building a knowledge database to help millions of people worldwide.
COVID-19 has exacerbated hunger and poverty in India. Solutions should address food insecurity now and provide livelihood opportunities for the future.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women globally. A all-female-led Lancet Commission outlines recommendations to reduce CVD in women by 2030.
The Medicine from the Sky Project will launch drone delivery pilots in the next few months to bring vaccines to India's more remote populations.
Women, in countries like India, have been disproportionally hit by COVID-19. Policies are needed to help them achieve financial security and equality.
Seven years after the WHO unveiled the “End TB Strategy”, the data shows we are far from achieving the targets contained within it.
AI and machine learning can play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, writes Dr Ruma Bhargava, Healthcare Lead at the World Economic Forum.
