The Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons have awarded business executive and philanthropist Upjit Singh Sachdeva, widely known as Jeety, an Honorary Fellowship in Medicine for his long-running support of healthcare and underserved communities in the West African nation.
Jeety received the fellowship on Sept. 18 during the college’s 10th Annual General and Scientific Meeting and Convocation Ceremony in Monrovia.
The college, Liberia’s postgraduate medical training institution, has trained more than 166 specialists since its establishment.
In a letter dated Sept. 1, the college cited Jeety’s humanitarian work, philanthropy and contributions to healthcare, education and community development.
It described his record as reflecting “outstanding humanitarian leadership, extraordinary philanthropy, and invaluable contributions toward the advancement of healthcare and community development in Liberia.”
The fellowship gives Jeety the rights and privileges associated with the college’s fellows.
Speaking at the ceremony, Jeety said the recognition would strengthen his commitment to Liberia’s health system, particularly efforts to expand specialist services outside the capital.
“I have witnessed the courage and resilience of Liberians through conflict, reconstruction, Ebola, COVID-19 and many other challenges,” Jeety said.
“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, who has lived in Liberia for nearly four decades, said his humanitarian work expanded during the Covid-19 pandemic. As movement restrictions disrupted livelihoods, he supported vulnerable families and provided meals to healthcare workers and patients.
“From the start of COVID, we were distributing food to the needy because there was a shutdown,” he said. “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 more than 110,000 plates of hot meals were distributed during the first 100 days of the lockdown.
The philanthropist has also supported the development of the Liberia Eye Center at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia through a partnership with India’s L.V. Prasad Eye Institute.
“Healthcare is not only about hospitals and medicine. It is about dignity, livelihood and hope,” Jeety said. “The Liberia Eye Centre demonstrates what sustained partnership can achieve.”
Jeety said the eye-care project had highlighted the difficulties faced by patients traveling from rural areas to Monrovia for specialist treatment. Transportation, accommodation and lost income can make access to care unaffordable, even when treatment is available.
To address that gap, a 50-bed health center in Weala, supported by Jeety Rubber LLC and Salala Rubber Corporation, is being expanded into a surgical facility. The project is expected to include four operating theaters and a dedicated eye unit covering about 6,000 square feet.
The eye unit will be equipped to treat common eye conditions in Liberia, excluding retinal surgery, according to Jeety. The facility is also expected to support a mobile outreach program that will screen patients in rural communities and refer those requiring surgery or advanced treatment to Weala.
“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.
His son, Dr. Niranjan Pehere, is expected to lead the eye hospital in Weala. Pehere previously worked on the development of the Liberia Eye Center at the John F. Kennedy Medical Center.
Jeety said the facility could also become a training site for Liberia’s medical residents. He expressed interest in working with the Ministry of Health and the Liberia College of Physicians and Surgeons to provide supervised clinical rotations, subject to accreditation and a formal agreement.
The plan reflects Jeety’s broader emphasis on linking healthcare infrastructure with specialist training and local capacity-building. He said his approach is informed in part by the Sikh principle of “Vand Chhako,” or sharing one’s resources, time, knowledge and opportunities with those in need.
“A business cannot measure success only by production, exports, or profit,” Jeety said. “It must also ask whether the community around it is healthier, safer, and better prepared for the future.”
He added: “This Fellowship strengthens my resolve. I will continue supporting partnerships that expand care, build local capacity, and reach people too often left behind.”
Jeety concluded by reaffirming his connection to Liberia, saying: “I am Indian by passport, Liberian by heart and blood.”
