Dr Waheed Arian

A passionate humanitarian and advocate for education for all, Dr Waheed Arain was born in Kabul, Afghanistan and grew up in the midst of the Soviet conflict. Living in a state of political turmoil, his family were consistently relocating to flee the conflict. This continuous uncertainty made regular schooling difficult and would later inspire his future career and campaigns.

As the conflict continued, Waheed's family undertook a hazardous mountain crossing in order to seek safety in Pakistan. Upon arrival at the refugee camp, the whole family resided in a single room, in terrible living conditions. It was while residing in this camp and suffering from a life-threatening combination of malnutrition, malaria and TB that the young Waheed first aspired to become a doctor.

Dr Arian's family returned to Kabul following the Soviet withdrawal; however, as the insurgency grew, Waheed was sent to the UK in the hopes that he would find safety and follow his dreams. Unable to speak much English, he worked in shops and restaurants but never let go of his dream to study and become a doctor, attending many colleges in the evening whilst still working to support his family. Thanks to his hard work and unwavering determination, Dr Arian was able to obtain A Levels and was awarded a place to study medicine at Cambridge University. Taking his education further, he also acquired world-class qualifications from Harvard and Imperial and practised in London hospitals before relocating to Liverpool’s Aintree University Hospital. Determined to put his new qualifications to good use, he would return to Afghanistan to assist medics during the continuing conflict, whilst he was on leave.

It was during this time that Dr Arian first set up Teleheal, a UK charity which enables doctors working in war zones to consult with professionals across the world. He conceived the idea after realising that many UK doctors would like to help the medics in Afghanistan but had no way to travel to the area safely.

Despite the challenges, Dr Arian's impressive leadership gained the charity support from national and international organisations.  This charity now boasts upwards of 100 volunteers who can advise colleagues in wartorn areas, using everyday technologies such as messaging services and social media.

Initial feedback from the Afghan health authorities has stated that in just three years, the service had saved in excess of 700 lives and helped thousands more who were ill. Using this feedback, Dr Arian launched further pilot schemes for developing areas and countries suffering from political turmoil and conflict, including many African countries.

A celebrated humanitarian, his achievements were first recognised with the 2016 Health Service Journal Highly Commended Rising Star Award, the 2017 UN Global Hero Award and the 2018 Rotary International Peace Award. In addition, he also received the Presidential Award from His Excellency Dr Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and the UK Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award in 2018 for his charitable work.

His inspirational story is the topic of his 2021 autobiography and has also been told by many media outlets globally, including a documentary for the BBC.

This celebrated keynote speaker is a popular choice with corporate clients across the globe, covering topics such as innovation, wellbeing and professional development amongst others.