Jeffrey Cheah Foundation

Salmaan Keshavjee, MD, SM ’93, AM ’95, PhD ’98, a professor of global health and social medicine in the Blavatnik Institute at Harvard Medical School and director of the HMS Center for Global Health Delivery, says that Malaysia, with its universal health coverage, is the perfect place to be thinking about how to improve the “last mile” of health care delivery.

“How do you take the services we have and make sure everyone gets them? How do you improve lives? We want to look at how to translate knowledge from the clinic into improved outcomes in the communities where people live and work,” says Keshavjee (pictured working in Bangladesh), who will get that opportunity thanks to a $1 million gift from the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation establishing the Jeffrey Cheah Research Fund at HMS. The fund will support research, medical education, and training that promise to enhance health systems and advance patient outcomes, with a focus on Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia. “After all, what is health care if we aren’t able to deliver it to those that need it the most? Malaysia has the perfect infrastructure for this,” Keshavjee says.

Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, the founder and trustee of the Jeffrey Cheah Foundation, says: “The need for greater investment in global health research has been laid bare by the pandemic. Dr. Keshavjee has a great track record in improving health and achieving health equity for people worldwide. His support of the Zero TB Initiative and his collaborative work with Partners In Health to improve care in impoverished communities reflect his commitment and dedication in this sphere, making him an ideal candidate to support.” An avid philanthropist who funds scholarships and educational causes, Cheah is also the founder and chairman of the Sunway Group, one of Malaysia’s leading conglomerates.

Keshavjee says the main health issues to address in Southeast Asia are growing rates of diabetes and obesity, but he also cites tuberculosis and hepatitis, which are treatable and preventable. “Eventually, we would also like to explore planetary health and the environment. In particular, data suggest air pollution contributes to diabetes and early heart disease. We want to take a broader view than simply throwing pills at people,” he says. “We want to look at aging, pollution, and the effects of environmental changes, such as water levels, heat patterns, and vector-borne diseases, on human health.”

That approach is hugely important to Cheah. “The very founding of the Sunway Group was based on the concept of sustainable development,” he says. “We look forward to collaborating with Harvard Medical School on further advancing the goal of global and planetary health.”