About Dr Waheed Arian

Dr Waheed Arian is an emergency physician, global and digital health consultant, humanitarian, and founder of Arian Teleheal, a non-profit organisation that links emergency and mental health experts with doctors working in conflict zones and low-resource settings. His work has been recognised by the WHO, the United Nations, and multiple global health networks for its innovative use of telemedicine to strengthen healthcare delivery for vulnerable populations.

He is also leading a digital mental health initiative that provides culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health support to organisational staff and communities in the UK and globally, in partnership with government, healthcare, non-profit, and academic organisations, including Cambridge and Oxford universities and the NHS.

Born in Afghanistan during the Soviet conflict, Dr Arian spent part of his childhood surviving war, disease and trauma before arriving in the United Kingdom as an unaccompanied teenager. His personal experience of war, displacement, and inequity has shaped his lifelong commitment to improving access to quality healthcare for people affected by conflict, crisis and trauma. He went on to study medicine and sciences at Cambridge, Imperial and Harvard universities and subsequently did his specialist training in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

As an adviser, he helps governments and global organisations with the development of healthcare and education systems that can address inequalities. Dr Arian is an NHS Innovation Mentor and was appointed in 2019 to the WHO Roster of Digital Health Experts. He is recognised as a UNESCO Global Hope Hero and a UN Global Goals Goalkeeper for promoting the Sustainable Development Goals. He has been a signatory to the WHO First World Report on Health of Refugees and Migrants.

Dr Arian was named UK Doctor of the Year in 2021 and chosen by The Times as a Person of the Year. In 2022 he received The World Citizen Award from Turkish Radio and Television. He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2023, and was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by Cambridge University in 2024 and an Honorary Doctor of Science by Chester University in 2025 for his pioneering contributions to medicine, innovation and philanthropy.

He is the author of the bestselling memoir In the Wars, and a frequent speaker on migration, digital health, mental health, and global health equity. Dr Arian’s career reflects the intersection of lived experience, clinical expertise, and innovative leadership, making him a leading voice in complex and fragile settings.

Recognition

Dr Arian’s achievements have been recognised with a number of national and international awards including:

Honorary Doctor of Science from Chester University (2025)
Honorary Fellowship from Cambridge University (2024)
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (2023)
UK’s Who Cares Wins ‘Best Doctor’ Award (2021)
The Times – Persons of the Year (2021)
Rotary International Peace Award (2018)
UK Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award (2018)
UN Global Hero Award (2017)
NHS Innovation Clinical Entrepreneur Fellow and Mentor (2017)
Health Service Journal Highly Commended Rising Star Award (2016)

Dr Waheed’s successes and story have been covered by numerous media organisations around the world, including through the Waheed’s Wars documentary by John Simpson, the BBC’s Foreign Affairs Editor.

He has created events to share lessons he has learned and inspire people from all walks of life across the globe, so that they can fulfil their full potential and can contribute positively to their societies.

Penguin Books published Dr Arian’s best-selling autobiography, In The Wars: A Story of Conflict, Survival and Saving Lives, in 2021.

Dr Waheed Arian short documentary by Cambridge University

BBC World News Interview

A short video made by TRT World sharing Dr Arian's story.

Dr Arian’s insights on resilience changed our approach to staff wellbeing.

NHS Trust Director

His keynote sparked a movement for compassionate leadership in our entire organization.

Fortune 500 CEO

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

NHS Communications Director

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.

Theresa May Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

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.

Irina Bokova Former Director-General of UNESCO

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.

Sir Bruce Keogh Former Medical Director, NHS England

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

Chris Matheson MP for City of Chester