From Refugee to Global Health Leader: Transforming Lives Through Innovation & Compassion
I’m Dr Waheed Arian: former child refugee, doctor, digital-health innovator, and mental-health advocate. Whether through telemedicine, digital wellbeing, or strategic advisory, I partner with organisations, governments, and communities to build resilience and foster equitable impact.
Winner of the Rotary International Peace Award 2018
UNESCO Global Hero Award 2017
UN Global Goals Goalkeeper 2017
The UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award (2018)
Health Service Journal Highly Commended Rising Star 2016
My Journey Highlights
From a childhood in a conflict zone to becoming global healthcare innovator. This is my journey so far.
- Conflict & Survival: Born in Afghanistanl, growing up in a conflict zone, surviving displacement and trauma
- A New Beginning: Arriving in the UK at 15, working in shops to support my family, then studying at Cambridge, Harvard, Imperial as a doctor
- Global Healthcare: becoming an NHS doctor, learning innovation skills and wanting to help refugees and others in conflict zones
- Digital Innovation: Launching Arian Teleheal life-saving telemedicine nonprofit (2015)
- Mental Health: Founding Arian Wellbeing to address the level of mental health crisis in the UK and working with public sector organisations (2023)
- Advisory Roles: Partnering with governments, the UN, WHO, and beyond
- Bestselling Author: In The Wars biography (2021)
How I Can Help
Speaking
Keynotes & panels on trauma recovery, leadership, and digital health
Consulting
Strategies for resilience, inclusive culture, and innovation for governments, nonprofits, and enterprises
Advisory
Guidance on digital-health policy, workforce wellbeing, and equity
Media & Thought Leadership
Articles, interviews, and documentaries reaching half a billion people
Media & Recognition
Trusted by leading outlets and organisations:
Key Features
- Recipient of multiple UK and international innovation and leadership awards
- Best-selling autobiography In The Wars
- Live BBC Breakfast appearances and BBC documentary
- Paramount Plus docuseries
- Presenter in first TEDxNHS
- Voted Who Cares Wins "Best Doctor"
Dr Arian’s insights on resilience changed our approach to staff wellbeing.
His keynote sparked a movement for compassionate leadership in our entire organization.
A natural communicator, Dr Arian’s lived-experience, strategic leadership and incredible innovation bring a credibility to his well-being vision which few can match
Your use of technology to connect medics across the world is giving people injured in conflict access to the very best medical advice and support. You should be tremendously proud of the impact your work is having. I wish you every success as you grow the project to reach even more medical teams working in some of the most testing circumstances across the world.
I should like to express my sincere gratitude to you for having participated in the Global Hope Coalition Joint Action high-level panel discussion entitled "Women, Children and the Trauma of Extremism.
We felt deeply honored by your participation and appreciate the fact that you took your time to share your views.
We're getting a glimpse of the future here, and I think what Dr Arian is doing represents something very special. The art and the science of medicine know no national boundaries. If anyone exhibits that, then it's Waheed and his work.
What Dr Arian has achieved is nothing short of incredible. Drawing on his own life experiences as a refugee and also as a newly qualified doctor assisting medics in conflict zones, he has developed a totally new idea that uses easily accessible technology to save lives in some of the most challenging environments on earth.
I would like to sincerely thank Waheed for what his charity is doing. His work has saved the lives of many and he has proved that when people work together, even when it is across great distances and perhaps without ever meeting in person, we can achieve great things
Connect With Me
Ready to collaborate or learn more? Let's create lasting impact together.
