Why we chose Freya as a Fellow

Freya is a family physician trained in clinical and public health. After 20 years of researching alternative HIV and STD counseling and testing strategies, she decided to take what worked in the U.S. and apply it in developing countries. She quickly morphed from researcher to social entrepreneur with Healthbox.

There is a tremendous shortage of qualified health workers throughout the developing world, Africa alone needs another 1.5 million just to meet basic needs. At the same time, computers and other healthcare tools have become cheap and reliable enough to be part of the solution. Freya developed software that allows HIV / AIDS patients and others at risk to get self-paced, confidential counseling via interactive software. After success in the US, she adapted the software for low-literacy settings in India, and realized that it could be expanded to help less-qualified providers to give quality care through guided diagnosis and treatment algorithms.