CodingTheChange - 3 (1/2)

‘Don't just scratch the surface, jump in and see how design can actually impact health care’, were the words spoken by a professor at NID Gujarat while Pratyusha Pareddy was pursuing Masters in Industrial and Product Design. Taking it as an inspiration, she teamed up with one of her peers to explore the world of maternal health care. They toured the rural parts of a northern state in India, to learn more about why people have limited access to basic medical care and understand how innovative designs can aid in such scenarios.

During their travel, they went from district to district talking to women and living in their houses to learn the hardships and lifestyle involved. They interacted with chief medical officers to understand the healthcare system at the medical centers. She says that what she thought was a basic medical necessity to many of us was a luxury which cannot be afforded by many of the women there.

This one-month expedition was an eye-opening experience for her as she realised that many women and children lack basic rights to proper health care facilities.

With a strong passion and determination that was largely inspired by her experiences, she started exploring multiple programs amidst her work life. After 5 years of constant effort, she found out about a healthcare entrepreneurship program called Stanford-India Biodesign which was started at IIT Hyderabad in collaboration with Stanford University. While she was applying, Pratyusha had a 3-month-old baby, but her infant never failed to inspire her and only motivated her to work hard so she can help create a safer environment for women and children.

 This program was where she teamed up with her future co-founder Manoj Sanker and both of them together created Nemocare- a startup aimed at providing ingenious solutions to improve newborn and maternal care.

Stay tuned for part 2 where I describe more about NemoCare