Sindh Govt and AKU will form group to cater to health needs

KARACHI: An interdisciplinary team led by Aga Khan University (AKU) and the Government of Sindh would address the province's complicated public health issues.

Dr Azra Pechuho, the Sindh Minister of Health and Population Welfare, and Sulaiman Shahabuddin, President, AKU, convened and agreed to this amicably.

"The working group will expand the existing relationship between the Sindh Government and AKU on education, research, and public health initiatives," Shahabuddin said. A notable example of the partners' dedication to enhancing healthcare for all is the free-of-cost training of public sector healthcare personnel in COVID-19 patient management and critical care, as well as help for the Sindh Government in managing typhoid and HIV outbreaks.

Members of the working group from the Sindh Government will include Dr Juman Bahoto, Director General Health Services; Dr Irshad Memon, Project Director, EPI, Sindh; Dr Abdul Jabbar, Additional Director Development; and Dr Jamal Raza, a paediatrician. 

According to Dr Pechuho, Sindh's government relies on organisations like AKU to help address the province's public health issues. Several initiatives were applauded, including introducing typhoid conjugate vaccines in Sindh, which led to the country becoming the first one in the world to use this vaccine as part of its routine immunisation programme.

Admitting that AKU is a non-profit institution, Shahabuddin explained that the university's revenue is reinvested in education and research and the Aga Khan University Hospital's efforts to boost healthcare for its patients. He added that AKU's patient welfare and zakat programmes spent Rs 3.6 billion to care for approximately 1 million poor and destitute patients in the last year.

Shahabuddin made his first visit to the Sindh Secretariat, since AKU was established in 1983 as Pakistan's first private university, he is the third president to hold the position.