Where Care Must Travel Farther
Sr. Dr. Aquinas Edacherry in the field, bringing care directly to a tribal community in Odisha.
Sr. Dr. Aquinas Edacherry, an internist and graduate of St. John’s Medical College, Class of 1975, chose a path that would take her far beyond the familiar walls of a hospital. As founder and Executive Director of Swasthya Swaraj, she has devoted her work to bringing primary healthcare closer to remote tribal communities in Odisha’s Kalahandi district—communities for whom distance, terrain, and limited resources can make access to care extraordinarily difficult.
Her vision reaches beyond treating illness. At its heart is a belief that lasting healthcare must be created with communities, not simply delivered to them. Through Swasthya Swaraj, indigenous women are trained as Swasthya Sathis—local health workers equipped to recognize illness, identify high-risk pregnancies, address malnutrition, provide health education, and connect their villages with timely medical care.
In doing so, Sr. Dr. Aquinas Edacherry has helped place knowledge and capability where they matter most: within the community itself.
Her life’s work quietly captures the spirit of rural service—to go where care is hardest to reach, to listen, to serve, and to empower.
