Health Equity Initiatives (HEI)

What Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) does

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a Malaysia-registered nonprofit organization founded in 2007 by Dr. Sharuna Verghis and Dr. Xavier Pereira to deliver community-based mental health programs for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. The organization operates from a Community Centre in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur (opened July 2008), which houses its mental health services, a children's play area, a mini library, and a 'Take What You Need Corner' for basic necessities. Its beneficiary population comprises displaced communities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and other source countries who face limited access to culturally and linguistically appropriate mental health care in Malaysia.

HEI's service model combines direct clinical mental health services (psychiatric assessment, counseling, psychotherapy, psychosocial support, facilitated support groups, and treatment adherence support) with a Community Health Worker (CHW) program that draws trained workers from the refugee communities themselves. Its flagship CHW Training Program in Mental Health is a nine-month curriculum; CHWs conduct outreach, screening, and chain-referral to identify hard-to-reach individuals. The portfolio also includes the FOSTER COVID-19 self-testing project across 11 Refugee Learning Centers, the PARSEL social-emotional learning initiative for refugee children, multilingual Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials translated into Urdu, Farsi, Burmese, Tamil, Arabic, Rohingya, Malay and English, the People's Health Forum advocacy coalition (established April 2019), and the Health and Human Rights Internship and Electives program that has trained 375+ medical and psychology students since 2009.

HEI is funded through grants and donations from international organizations (UNHCR, IOM, ILO, FIND), academic institutions (Monash University Malaysia, Taylor's University, Tulane School of Public Health), and government partners (Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development). Services are delivered free of charge. The organization maintains over 35 refugee community organization partnerships and is a member of the Inter-Agency Working Group on MHPSS. Revenue, headcount trends beyond the current 35 employees, and detailed financials are not publicly disclosed.

Name

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI)

Legal name

Health Equity Initiatives

Website

https://healthequityinitiatives.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a Malaysia-based nonprofit that delivers community-based mental health programs for refugees and asylum seekers through Community Health Workers, multilingual IEC materials, and partnerships with UNHCR, IOM, and Monash University.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Kuala Lumpur

HQ country

Malaysia

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Donations: HEI operates as a nonprofit organization relying on grants, donations, and partnerships with international organizations such as UNHCR, IOM, and academic institutions. Services are provided free of charge to refugees and asylum seekers.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a nonprofit organization that delivers community-based mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) services to refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. Its core offerings include direct clinical mental health services (psychiatric assessment, counseling, psychotherapy, and treatment adherence support), a nine-month Community Health Worker training program in mental health, multilingual IEC materials, specialized projects (FOSTER for COVID-19 self-testing and PARSEL for social-emotional learning), and evidence-based advocacy through research and the People's Health Forum coalition.

Product overview

Health Equity Initiatives (HEI) is a non-profit organization that offers a portfolio of community-based mental health programs and health services for refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. The organization operates an integrated service model centered on a nine-month Community Health Worker (CHW) Training on Mental Health program, supplemented by direct Mental Health Services (including psychiatric assessment, counseling, and psychotherapy). Additional programs include the FOSTER COVID-19 self-testing project, PARSEL social-emotional learning initiative, multilingual IEC Materials, research Publications, and advocacy through the People's Health Forum. The portfolio also includes training technical support, Interpersonal Psychotherapy workshops, suicide risk prevention training, and a Health and Human Rights Internship program for medical and psychology students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mental Health Services Comprehensive clinical and psychosocial mental health services for refugees and asylum seekers, including psychiatric assessment and treatment, counseling and psychotherapy, psychosocial support, facilitated support groups, and treatment adherence support.
• Community Health Worker (CHW) Training on Mental Health A nine-month training curriculum equipping Community Health Workers with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to operate within multi-disciplinary mental healthcare teams, deliver community-based mental healthcare, and conduct psychosocial interventions.
• Community Outreach Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 375 medical and psychology students trained through internship and electives program
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• International Labour Organization (ILO)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2022Co-organized psychosocial support training for migrant workers with 34 participants from 15 organizations. Follow-up to 2018 capacity-building sessions for caseworkers. Training focused on mental health and migrant experiences.
• FINDmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Collaboration on FOSTER Project (Feasibility of COVID-19 Self-Testing in Refugee Learning Centres) alongside Monash University Malaysia. FIND provided diagnostics expertise for implementing COVID-19 self-testing framework in 11 Refugee Learning Centers.
• Monash University MalaysiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Ongoing collaboration including FOSTER COVID-19 testing project, PARSEL social-emotional learning project with Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences, WHO/HEI REWIRE training program, and Dr. Sharuna Verghis serves as Senior Lecturer.
• People's Health Forum (PHF) MemberscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019Coalition including Parti Sosialis Malaysia, Third World Network, Citizens' Health Initiative, Agora Society Malaysia, and Monash University Malaysia committed to Healthcare as a Human Right. Organized six roundtables between 2019-2020 to develop Blueprint on Health Reform in Malaysia.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Partnership since 2011 for rapid appraisals assessing psychosocial needs of trafficking victims at government shelters. HEI developed Basic Psychosocial Support Guidelines for Government Shelter Staff commissioned by IOM.
• Jeffrey Cheah School of Medicine and Health Sciences (Monash University)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on PARSEL Project (Participatory Action Research on Social-Emotional Learning) with Kachin Refugee Learning Center and UNHCR. Focus on enhancing refugee children's wellbeing through trauma-informed social-emotional learning.
• Tulane School of Public HealthmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research partnerships including sexual health knowledge needs assessment in adolescent refugees, tuberculosis treatment adherence barriers study, and psychological assessment of Afghan refugee children.
• Taylor's University School of MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDr. Xavier Pereira serves as Adjunct Professor. Partnership includes community-based teaching clinic for MBBS students during psychiatry postings, and Interpersonal Psychotherapy workshops conducted by Dr. Pereira.
• Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (Malaysia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTwo-year partnership to implement pilot project on Provision of Psycho-Social Support for Care Providers at Government-Run Shelter. Led to publication of 'Human Trafficking and Mental Health: A Primer' in English and Bahasa Malaysia.
• United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative work including CHW Training Program in Mental Health, MHPSS training for Trauma and Recovery, and WHO/HEI REWIRE complexity-based community engagement training program for urban refugees.
• Inter-Agency Working Group on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (IAWG-MHPSS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEI is member of IAWG-MHPSS which includes UNHCR, IOM, ICRC, Mercy Malaysia, and other organizations. Conducts suicide risk prevention workshops and builds capacity for member organizations.
• Alliance of Chin Refugees (ACR)coreOthersOne of 35+ refugee community organization partners including Afghan Community Centre, Ahmadiyya Refugee Community, Arakan Refugee Relief Committee, Burmese Refugee Organization, and others representing diverse refugee communities.
• Kachin Refugee Committee (KRC)coreOthersPartner in PARSEL Project for social-emotional learning at Kachin Refugee Learning Center. Represents Kachin refugee community in Malaysia.
• Rohingya Society of Malaysia (RSM)coreOthersPartner refugee organization representing Rohingya community. Rohingya CHW joined HEI team in 2014.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee: Major INGO providing health, psychosocial support, and protection services to refugees globally. Operates comparable community MHPSS programming and partners with UNHCR on refugee mental health — overlapping HEI's target beneficiary population.
• Médecins du Monde: International humanitarian medical NGO delivering healthcare to vulnerable populations including refugees and migrants. Comparable mission and MHPSS-style programming; broader geographic and operational footprint than HEI.
• Médecins Sans Frontières: Largest independent medical humanitarian organization, providing mental health care for refugees and displaced populations worldwide. HEI operates a similar community-mental-health model but at a much smaller scale and focused on a single country.

Regional players

• Health Action for Myanmar: Regional nonprofit delivering health services and advocacy for displaced Myanmar populations. Comparable in serving refugee communities from Myanmar (one of HEI's major populations) and in combining service delivery with policy advocacy.
• Mercy Malaysia: Malaysian medical humanitarian NGO providing healthcare in disaster and refugee settings across the region. Comparable in geographic anchor (Malaysia), nonprofit structure, and humanitarian health delivery — but at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Frontier Organization for Refugee Health and Education: Malaysia-based nonprofit delivering health and education services to refugees. Most direct geographic peer — operates in the same Kuala Lumpur context with similar refugee-health focus, making it the closest head-to-head comparison.
• International Medical Corps: INGO delivering refugee mental health and psychosocial support globally, including community-based MHPSS models in Asia. Directly comparable to HEI in mission (refugee MHPSS) and methodology (community health workers, capacity building).

Others

• CARAM Asia: Regional NGO coordinating migration health advocacy across Asia; HEI's co-founder Dr. Verghis was its first Coordinator. Comparable as a health-and-migration advocacy peer with overlapping regional footprint and historical leadership ties.
• Relief International: Humanitarian agency running health, MHPSS, and community-based programs for refugees in Asia and the Middle East. Comparable to HEI in delivering integrated mental health and community health worker services to displaced populations.
• Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network: Regional advocacy coalition HEI's co-founder is connected to (Dr. Verghis serves as advisor). Comparable as a policy and rights-based refugee advocacy platform operating in the same geography and beneficiary universe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HEI.malaysia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/health-equity-initiatives
• Instagraminstagram.com/hei_msia/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Health Equity Initiatives (HEI)