Have a closer look at these exceptional social entrepreneurs

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​This video is the first in the Accelerating Healthcare Access movement’s series “AHA! Moments”, highlighting the innovative solutions of exceptional social entrepreneurs supporting Philips Foundation's mission.

Here's the story of Dr. Armida Fernandez: Improving access to maternal and newborn care in the slums of India. ​

It all started when Dr. Fernandez realized that if she really wanted to make an impact on the lives of women and children from these slums, she had to move out of the neonatal intensive care unit, and go to the places where these women stay - in their homes, with their families and communities - to bring about that change so people can access healthcare earlier.

​That’s how SNEHA (Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action) came to existence. ​SNEHA now provides services for women in India throughout their entire lifecycle and helps them become empowered and demand the care they need. 

SNEHA is one of the few NGOs taking an integrated approach to urban health. Their approach is threefold:

1. Working with community centres and making home visits to directly address community health needs, spread health awareness and empower communities to improve health-seeking behavior;
2. Working with public health systems and the police to strengthen service delivery;
3. To advance research on public health interventions by having a data-driven, evidence-based approach as the backbone of how they operate.

​Hear about how SNEHA was founded in Dr. Armida Fernandez and Vanessa’s own words:​​