Heartfile

What Heartfile does

Heartfile is a non-profit NGO think tank headquartered in Islamabad, Pakistan, founded in 1998 by Dr. Sania Nishtar. The organization operates as an analytical and advocacy platform focused on health systems strengthening, non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention, tobacco control, trans-fat elimination, and innovative health financing for the poor in Pakistan and other low- and middle-income countries. Its core product is Heartfile Health Financing, an mHealth-enabled social protection system that uses IT-supported demand-side financing tools to deliver efficient, targeted cash transfers protecting vulnerable populations from catastrophic health spending. Heartfile also operates the Pakistan Health Policy Forum as a multi-stakeholder convening platform, the Alliance for Tobacco and Nicotine Control (ATNiC) coalition, and produces an extensive body of peer-reviewed publications, books, and policy briefs including the Gateway Papers series and "Choked Pipes: Reforming Pakistan's Mixed Health System."

Heartfile's business model is grant-funded, relying on donations and grants from international foundations and development partners including the Rockefeller Foundation, WHO, World Bank, DFID, IDRC Canada, CIDA, and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The organization has secured MoUs with Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Health and provincial governments for direct policy-drafting services, and conducts commissioned research with UN agencies while maintaining intellectual independence. Strategic partnerships include the mHealth Alliance of the UN Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative, and World Economic Forum's IPIHD, positioning Heartfile within global health innovation networks.

Leadership transitioned in 2019 when founder Dr. Sania Nishtar stepped down from executive responsibilities following her appointment as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation (with Federal Minister status); she continues to serve on the board. The current CEO is Dr. Saba Amjad. The organization operates with approximately 26 employees and runs an active dissemination program including recent trans-fat research events (March 2026), World Diabetes Day 2025 activities, tobacco control consultations (October 2025), and cross-country NCD financing case studies across 10 LMICs.

Name

Heartfile

Legal name

Heartfile

Website

https://heartfile.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Policy Think Tank

NAICS

Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Cardiometabolic RPM & Chronic Disease Management (diabetes, hypertension, CHF, obesity) (HLALAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cardiometabolic Nutrition (Heart Health, Cholesterol, Hypertension) (HSADAFAG), Preventive Cardiology & Lipidology (HLAKABAF)

Keywords

• Health policy research
• Mhealth health financing
• Tobacco control advocacy
• Ncd prevention programs
• Health systems reform

Headquarters

HQ city

Islamabad

HQ country

Pakistan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: As a non-profit NGO think tank, Heartfile relies on donations, grants, and funding from international organizations, foundations, and development partners to support its health policy work and the Heartfile Health Financing initiative.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Heartfile is a non-profit NGO think tank that delivers health policy research, advocacy, and innovative health system solutions in Pakistan, with its flagship Heartfile Health Financing initiative providing an mHealth-enabled social protection system that delivers cash transfers to protect the poor from catastrophic health spending. It also runs specialized programs on NCD prevention, tobacco control, trans-fats elimination, and front-of-pack warning labels, and convenes the Pakistan Health Policy Forum.

Product overview

Heartfile is a non-profit NGO think tank established in 1998, offering a portfolio of health policy research, advocacy, and innovative solutions. The core offering is Heartfile Health Financing, an mHealth-enabled social protection system for health financing. The portfolio includes the Pakistan Health Policy Forum as a multi-stakeholder platform, the Heartfile Leaders Network for fundraising support, and specialized initiatives on Tobacco Control, Trans-Fats Elimination, and Front of Pack Warning Labels. ATNiC (Alliance for Tobacco and Nicotine Control) is a coalition hosted by Heartfile. The organization also produces publications including the Gateway Papers, Choked Pipes, and peer-reviewed research. Heartfile's work spans health systems performance assessment, NCD prevention and control, and policy development for Universal Health Coverage in Pakistan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Heartfile Health Financing An IT-supported demand side health financing tool that enables efficient, timely, and well-targeted cash transfers to protect the poor against catastrophic spending on health and establish a Health Equity Fund.
• Pakistan Health Policy Forum A virtual discussion portal and archive for health policy issues in Pakistan that brings together government agencies, development partners, NGOs, medical academia, and professional associations to build consensus on health reform.
• Alliance for Tobacco and Nicotine Control (ATNiC) A consortium hosted by Heartfile aimed at creating a tobacco-free Pakistan through oversight of tobacco control policy, evidence generation, collaborative support, and promotion of best-practice policies.
• Tobacco Control Program Comprehensive tobacco control activities including research on tobacco cessation services, plain packaging policies, awareness sessions, and advocacy for evidence-based tobacco control measures in Pakistan.
• Trans-Fats Elimination Initiative Research and advocacy initiative for eliminating industrial trans fatty acids from Pakistan's food supply, including situational analysis, stakeholder engagement, and regulatory advocacy.
• Front of Pack Warning Labels (FOPWL) Advocacy program for adoption of front-of-pack warning labels to address Pakistan's NCD crisis, particularly related to unhealthy food products.
• Gateway Papers The Gateway series of papers (I and II) aimed at strengthening the evidence base of health reform in Pakistan, with Gateway Paper I being the first consolidated review of health systems in Pakistan.
• Choked Pipes The book 'Choked Pipes: Reforming Pakistan's Mixed Health System' that charts a roadmap for health reform in Pakistan.

Quantifiable outcome

• Heartfile Health Financing enables efficient, timely and well-targeted cash transfers to protect the poor against catastrophic spending on health

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and supportive.

• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile works with WHO on various health initiatives including the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Promotion in Pakistan. Dr. Sania Nishtar has chaired WHO commissions and working groups.
• World BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWorld Bank has provided funding support for post-gateway roundtables and health systems research initiatives. Collaborates on health policy development in Pakistan.
• Clinton Global InitiativemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile made a joint commitment with the Clinton Global Initiative in 2008. The initiative was recognized as an exemplary approach to addressing challenges in global health.
• mHealth Alliance of UN FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile Health Financing has international partnerships including with the mHealth Alliance of the UN Foundation for innovative healthcare delivery.
• World Economic Forum's International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile Health Financing is part of the World Economic Forum's International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD).
• Global Forum for Health Research, GenevasupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding for research in priority setting for health systems research and development of a locally suited priority-setting model.
• Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile collaborates with PANAH on tobacco control initiatives and NCD advocacy, including participation in International Public Health Conferences.
• Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile collaborates with GHAI on tobacco control and NCD advocacy work in Pakistan.
• University of Karachi - Department of Food Science and TechnologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile collaborated with the University of Karachi to organize a dissemination program on industrial trans fatty acids in street foods and cooking fats in Pakistan.
• Health Services Academy IslamabadmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartfile conducts tobacco awareness sessions for public health students at Health Services Academy and has provided books and publications to the Academy's library.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• NCD Alliance: Formal global NCD advocacy coalition seeded by WHO and the Lancet — directly comparable as a convening and advocacy body for NCD prevention and tobacco control in LMICs.
• BRAC: Massive South Asia-headquartered development NGO running health-financing and primary-care programmes at scale in Bangladesh and beyond — comparable mission and operating environment to Heartfile's Pakistan health-systems work.
• PATH: Large global health nonprofit working on NCDs, health financing, and government engagement across LMICs; comparable scope of services including policy advocacy and innovative health-financing tool development.
• Vital Strategies: US-based global health organisation running Bloomberg- and Gates-funded NCD, tobacco-control, and trans-fat elimination advocacy programmes, including direct work in Pakistan — comparable mission overlap with Heartfile's NCD and tobacco portfolios.
• Smoke Free Foundation / Pakistan National Heart Association (PANAH): Pakistan's leading cardiovascular disease NGO and Heartfile's direct collaboration partner on tobacco control — comparable domain, geography, and advocacy model.
• Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI): Major global health NGO that embeds technical advisors in LMIC governments on health financing, supply chains, and NCDs — closely comparable to Heartfile's technical-assistance and policy-advising model in Pakistan.
• Results for Development (R4D): Global health systems nonprofit that advises governments and produces policy analyses on health financing and NCDs in LMICs — comparable to Heartfile's think-tank role in Pakistan with a similar convening and research-output model.
• Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI): Bloomberg-funded advocacy incubator explicitly partnered with Heartfile on tobacco control and NCD advocacy in Pakistan — closest direct operational peer in the same country and policy domain.

Regional players

• Aga Khan Health Services (Pakistan): Major private health-system operator active in Pakistan and other LMICs delivering maternal, NCD, and primary care services — comparable Pakistan-based health footprint but service-delivery rather than policy-advocacy orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: Largest private global health funder with LMIC portfolios across NCDs, primary care, and health financing — operates in Heartfile's space as a funder/convener rather than as a direct competing NGO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HeartfileTweets
• YouTubeyoutube.com/heartfile
• Facebookfacebook.com/Heartfile
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heartfile

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Heartfile