Liberia: Jeety Receives “Honorary Fellowship” from Liberia’s Medical Body — As LCPS Cites Decades of Contributions to Health Sector

Photo: The leadership of the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons conferring upon business tycoon Dr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, widely known as Jeety, its Honorary Fellowship in Medicine.

CONGO TOWN, Monrovia – The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons has conferred its Honorary Fellowship in Medicine on business tycoon, humanitarian and philanthropist Dr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva, widely known as Jeety, recognizing decades of humanitarian service and in particular, his contributions to healthcare, specialist medical services and efforts to extend care to underserved communities in Liberia.

Jeety was admitted as an Honorary Fellow during the 10th Annual General and Scientific Meeting and Convocation Ceremony on September 18 at the Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, outside Monrovia, in a ceremony that brought together medical professionals, government officials, members and fellows of the College, prospective graduates and other guests.

The College, which serves as Liberia’s postgraduate medical training institution, has trained more than 166 Liberian specialists since its establishment.

In a letter dated September 1, the College described Jeety’s record as one marked by humanitarian service, philanthropy and a sustained commitment to the well-being of Liberians, highlighting his support for health initiatives, vulnerable populations, education and community development.

According to the College, Jeety was selected for the honorary fellowship in recognition of his “outstanding humanitarian leadership, extraordinary philanthropy, and invaluable contributions toward the advancement of healthcare and community development in Liberia.”

The certificate formally admits Dr. Upjit Singh Sachdeva as an Honorary Fellow of the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons and confers on him the associated rights, honors and privileges enjoyed by the College’s fellows.

For Jeety, however, the honor appeared less as a culmination of his work than as another reason to deepen his involvement in a health system he has supported for years, particularly in the area of eye care, where he has backed the development of the Liberia Eye Center at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center through a partnership with the L.V. Prasad Eye Institute.

Speaking after receiving the fellowship, Jeety reflected on his nearly four decades in Liberia and linked his humanitarian work to the experiences he had witnessed during some of the country’s most difficult periods, including conflict, reconstruction, the Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I have witnessed the courage and resilience of Liberians through conflict, reconstruction, Ebola, COVID-19 and many other challenges. Liberia has given me family, friendship, trust, opportunity and belonging. My service is therefore not charity offered from a distance; it is my duty to a country and people I consider my own,” Jeety said.

It was during the COVID-19 shutdown, he recalled, that his humanitarian response expanded from support for vulnerable families to direct assistance for healthcare workers and institutions. With restrictions affecting movement and livelihoods, Jeety said he began distributing food to people in need while also providing meals to hospitals serving the country’s security personnel.

“From the start of COVID, we were distributing food to the needy because there was a shutdown, and not only to the needy. I used to deliver meals three times a day to the 14 military hospitals and other health facilities for patients, nurses and doctors,” he said. “At the same time, we were feeding vulnerable populations, and by 100 days during COVID lockdown, we had distributed over 110, 000 plates of hot cook meal.”

That experience, Jeety added, gave him a firsthand view of the commitment of Liberian health workers, particularly doctors and other professionals who continued working through extraordinary circumstances.

“I have seen Liberian doctors working very closely with dedication, commitment, sincerity and beyond duty, beyond the call of duty,” he said, before reflecting on the health workers who continued serving patients despite the risks and difficulties surrounding the pandemic.

But it is the expansion of specialist healthcare, particularly ophthalmology that now forms one of the central elements of Jeety’s health-sector contribution. “Healthcare is not only about hospitals and medicine. It is about dignity, livelihood and hope,” he said. “Healthcare has a special place in my heart. For several years, I have been privileged to bring and support the Liberia Eye Centre and its partnership with L.V. Prasad Eye Institute. I remain deeply grateful to the team whose skill and commitment convert that support into healing. The Liberia Eye Centre demonstrates what sustained partnership can achieve.”

Jeety said the experience of supporting eye care in Monrovia also exposed a larger problem: many patients living outside the capital face barriers that have little to do with the medical treatment itself. Transportation, accommodation and the loss of income associated with travelling to Monrovia can make specialist treatment difficult for rural families, even when the treatment itself is available.

That concern has informed the ongoing expansion of the 50-bed health center in Weala, supported by Jeety Rubber LLC and Salala Rubber Corporation, into a surgical facility that Jeety says will include four operating theatres and a dedicated eye unit.

The eye unit is planned to occupy approximately 6,000 square feet and, according to Jeety, will be equipped to manage common eye conditions encountered in Liberia, apart from retinal surgery. The broader facility is intended not simply to create another hospital outside Monrovia, but to establish a platform through which specialist services can be taken closer to communities that have traditionally had limited access to them.

“Bringing patients to Monrovia for surgery and advanced treatments is good, but bringing quality eye care closer to patients is even more practical and sustainable,” Jeety said.

He said the initiative would also include an outreach component, with a mobile eye-care service expected to travel into communities with equipment for screening and examination, while patients requiring surgery or further intervention could then be referred to the Weala facility.

“Our aim is to enable people in rural communities to receive timely, respectful care to see again the things they loved and care about without needing to come to Monrovia,” he said.

The project is also being linked to the return of Dr. Niranjan Pehere, Jeety’s son, to Liberia to lead the eye hospital in Weala. Jeety said Dr. Pehere previously spent years helping develop the Liberia Eye Center at JFK and that his return would create an opportunity to apply that experience to rural populations.

The planned facility, Jeety said, is also intended to support the development of Liberia’s specialist workforce, as he expressed his willingness to work with the Ministry of Health and the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons to create opportunities for supervised clinical rotations for medical residents, subject to the College’s accreditation requirements and a formal agreement that would allow trainees to gain practical experience while contributing to the expansion of specialist care beyond Monrovia.

The proposal reflects a wider argument Jeety made in accepting the fellowship: that healthcare infrastructure, specialist training and community investment should develop together rather than separately. For Jeety, that philosophy is also connected to his Sikh faith and the principle of “Vand Chhako,” which he described as sharing what one has with people in need, including wealth, time, opportunity, knowledge and responsibility.

“A business cannot measure success only by production, exports, or profit. It must also ask whether the community around it is healthier, safer, and better prepared for the future,” he said. “This Fellowship strengthens my resolve. I will continue supporting partnerships that expand care, build local capacity, and reach people too often left behind.”

As he concluded his remarks, Jeety spoke about his longstanding ties to Liberia, where he has lived for nearly four decades. “I am Indian by passport, Liberian by heart and blood,” he said, reaffirming his commitment to supporting initiatives to expand access to healthcare and strengthen local capacity.