Kolkata, India -- (ReleaseWire) -- 04/05/2017 --In order to ease some of the monumental health care shortages in impoverished nations, Indian-based social enterprise, Vaidyaa has come up with creative solutions to help challenged countries meet their health care needs. The organization has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo to raise the funds that are needed to build an online infrastructure and to provide vital medical treatment and education across borders.

Vaidyaa was originally a doctor-on-call service. Beginning in 2015, the organization provided services for the city of Calcutta, including having a specialist visit a patient's home for a small fee. Their goal was to offer medical care for everyone, including those who otherwise couldn't attend a medical center or who required specialist care but were unable to access it.

They soon realized that their services were needed not only by the five million people in Calcutta, but also outside the subcontinent. People started contacting Vaidyaa from other countries, seeking help in order to get the medical care they so desperately needed, but were unable to find in their home countries.

Looking deeper into the health care infrastructures and day-to-day realities of these countries, the team at Vaidyaa uncovered a startling truth – access to health care in some parts of the world is in a profound crisis. Zimbabwe, with a population of 15 million, has a doctor to patient ratio of 1.6 to 10,000. There are a total of 2 heart surgeons serving the entire population. In Iraq, there is a serious lack of trained surgeons and sparse existing medical equipment. Afghanistan has few doctors, and those who exist have little training. The Afghan hospitals have almost no equipment and medicines are often fake. Bangladesh does have a hospital infrastructure, although it is still in its early stages, forcing many to leave the country in order to receive proper care.

These problems leave many segments of the population in dire need of care and with no access to emergency medical treatments, life-saving surgeries, and medication to treat illnesses.

Vaidyaa, which means 'physician' in Sanskrit, hopes to raise $150,000 through the Indiegogo campaign to help cover the costs of building an infrastructure for web based consultations, to subsidize travel expenses for surgeons to travel to Baghdad, Kabul, or Harare to conduct lifesaving surgeries, and to hold medical education conferences for doctors, as well as nurse and paramedical training programs in Bangladesh.

So far, the campaign has raised close to $20,000 of their goal. Contributors can choose between a selection of unique awards, including an assortment of teas from India, a web based appointment from an Indian specialist with a complimentary follow-up, and a featured award – a traditional hand woven Indian carpet (a dhurrie), as well as the other awards, for a $5,000 contribution.

To take part in this campaign, helping to provide medical resources, support, and training in challenged countries, or to learn more, visit the Vaidyaa Treatment Across Borders Indiegogo campaign page.