Omishka Hirachund

Category
Health

Age
27

Organisation / Company
Medical doctor DGMT #KeReady
Website

Profile

Omishka Hirachund, 27, is a medical doctor and works for the #KeReady project funded by the DGMT and KFW. #KeReady is a free healthcare initiative for the youth whereby mobile units go into underdeveloped, rural communities to promote primary healthcare. The #KeReady initiative serves to make access to healthcare accessible, affordable, and relatable to the youth of South Africa. Omishka wishes for South Africa to be a safer place for children and women. “The gender-based violence rates and the repercussions of the violence on our society and healthcare systems are devastating. I would like South Africans to remember who they are and what we fought so hard for — equality,” she says. The healthcare system falls short in a number of vital areas. It should support primary healthcare initiatives, ensure equitable access to health care for all South Africans, minimise discrimination against people living with HIV, and provide more accessible, acceptable obstetric healthcare to pregnant women, she says. Omishka works in eThekwini and the Umgungundlovu district and these mobile clinics educate the youth on how to empower themselves in making educated decisions when it comes to their health. She is particularly passionate about gender-based violence and menstrual hygiene. 

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

• MBBCH (Wits) 
• Diploma in primary emergency care (CMSA)
• Master in medical science, research on Covid (continuing through UKZN)

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• Woman of Wonder Panache Award 2023  
• Completed a Diploma in Primary Emergency Care. 
• Conducted research on Covid-19
• Writing thesis on mortality trends during the Covid pandemic at a district hospital level in fulfilment of a master’s in medical science.

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

I remember when my grandmother had a haemorrhagic stroke and was admitted to ICU. I was so scared to enter the ICU and my heart broke when she died. But it ignited a passion in me to become a doctor to help make a difference in patient’s lives.

Advice to your younger self?

Do not be harsh on me. We grow and learn every day. I needed to learn that failure is okay and part of the process.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

Transformed. I would like South Africa to be a safer place for children and women. The Gender-Based Violence rates and the repercussions of the violence on our society and healthcare systems are devastating. I would like South Africans to remember who they are and what we fought so hard for – equality. I would like the healthcare system to 1) support primary healthcare initiatives 2)ensure equitable access to healthcare for all South Africans 3) minimization of discrimination against people living with HIV and 4) provide more accessible, acceptable obstetric healthcare to pregnant women.