Samir Mehta

Indian social entrepreneur who created the first mobile health van network serving rural India

Samir Mehta (b. 1978) transformed healthcare access in India through his 1999 launch of Health on Wheels, a network of mobile medical units providing primary care to remote villages. Starting with three converted buses, he developed a scalable model using local health workers and telemedicine. By 2002, the program had conducted over 500,000 rural consultations, identifying early-stage diabetes and hypertension cases that otherwise would have gone untreated. His Community Health Mapping System, launched in 2000, uses GIS technology to track disease patterns and optimize van routes. This innovation reduced infant mortality rates by 40% in participating regions per a 2003 World Bank study. Samir's Train the Trainer program has certified 12,000+ community health workers across 18 states. In 2001, he partnered with Tata Group to create India's first mobile health insurance scheme for rural populations. His 2004 TED Talk inspired similar programs in Bangladesh and Nepal. Recent initiatives include AI-driven disease prediction models and solar-powered mobile labs. The WHO cited his work as a best practice example in 2005. Samir's approach has been studied by Harvard's School of Public Health and adapted by UNICEF's global health programs.