Neha Mankani is a Pakistani midwife and a member of the 2023 BBC 100 Women.
Mankani attended school in the United States as a Fulbright Scholar,[1] where she earned a master's degree in public health from Columbia University.[2] She also participated in the ICM Young Leaders Programme.[3]
While pursuing her master's degree, Mankani worked for a summer in a Ugandan refugee camp.[2] After graduating with her master's, Mankani joined the Lady Dufferin Hospital's midwifery program.[2] She began collecting a small fund among her friends and family to help financially support patients.[2]
Mankani began running maternal health clinics for underserved communities in Pakistan in 2015.[4]
In 2019, Mankani established the Mama Baby Fund charity in Karachi to provide financial support to families who couldn't afford pre-natal, post-natal, and infant healthcare.[1][4]
In 2020, Mankani began traveling to Baba Island, off the coastline of Karachi, to provide patient care.[5]
As of 2021, Mankani was working for Indus Hospital and Health Network (IHHN) to set up and manage midwife programs in primary care settings.[3]
In 2022, Mankani was part of a group of midwives who provided care in Sindh Province in the midst of flooding there.[1][5][6] As part of this work, she visited flood-affected areas and internally displaced persons camps to deliver supplies for delivering babies.[1][4][5] She also conducted maternal health clinics.[4][5] She was interviewed on her work for the BBC's Woman's Hour.[7]
Mankani is a member of Women in Global Health,[8] the PUSH Campaign's regional coordinator for South Asia,[6] and the head of the Midwifery Association of Pakistan's Karachi chapter.[3]
In 2021, Mankani was one of seven women healthcare workers to win the Beyond Applause: Heroines of Health 2021 Award, given by Women in Global Health.[3]
In March 2023, Mankani was named the U.S. Mission Pakistan's 2023 Woman of Courage.[1]
In November 2023, Mankani was named to the BBC's 100 Women list.[9]