The President’s Review

November 4, 2024



	November 4, 2024


	*President’s Message*



	Earlier this year, following a lengthy consultative process, AKU adopted a strategic plan to guide its development over the next five years. While it commits us to action in seven different areas and includes dozens of goals, the ultimate aim of the plan is simple: to significantly increase the University’s capacity to improve quality of life in the societies it serves. Recent achievements show that we are on track to make the AKU of 2028 an even more powerful asset for Asia and Africa than it is today. As called for under the strategic plan, we are enhancing the quality and breadth of our academic programmes, building our capacity to conduct groundbreaking research and establishing the systems needed to put data at the heart of health care delivery in our hospitals. We are working closely with public and private-sector partners on important challenges, addressing climate change across all aspects of our operations and taking a carefully considered approach to expanding our footprint. The evidence of our progress is plain to see. It includes the new honours and accreditations earned by our residency programmes, hospitals and outreach centres. The fact that we have launched four new degrees in 2024 alone. The completion of the AKU manual of clinical guidelines, which is set to influence care far beyond our own health facilities. And our numerous collaborations with government, including those to advance teaching, school leadership, primary care, critical care and disaster preparedness. With your help, the Aga Khan University is doing precisely what Our Chancellor, His Highness the Aga Khan, has urged it to do: “to look to the future, seeking always to think creatively, to innovate and to improve.”


	*Achieving Excellence*



	Residency Programmes in Nairobi Accredited Three AKU residency programmes in Kenya were newly accredited by the U.S.-based Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education International. With the accreditation of the anaesthesiology, family medicine and pathology programmes, eight of the Medical College’s nine residency programmes in Kenya have been accredited by ACGME-I. AKU operates the only ACGME-accredited programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa. School of Nursing Takes First Step Toward Accreditation The School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing programme became the first in Pakistan to be awarded pre-accreditation status by the US-based National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Accreditation. Pre-accreditation status indicates the programme is likely to succeed in meeting the League’s standards for excellence, integrity, caring, and inclusion. SONAM now has three years to achieve full accreditation. The League has been accrediting nursing education programmes since 1952. Read More AKUH Heart Care Honoured with U.S. Award The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi’s heart attack care earned top marks from the American College of Cardiology. The Hospital received a Platinum Performance Achievement Award from the College’s Chest Pain – Myocardial Infarction Registry. Only three hospitals based outside the United States were so honored. Read More Hospitals Reaccredited Following its seventh comprehensive audit by the Joint Commission International since 2006, the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi was reaccredited by JCI. In addition, the Aga Khan Hospital for Women, Karimabad and the Aga Khan Maternal and Child Care Centre, Hyderabad successfully maintained their SafeCare Level 5 certification. “We view accreditations not merely as awards but as vital tools to enhance our patient care processes,” AKU Health Services CEO Farhat Abbas said. Read More Dean’s Report Highlights Medical College Achievements A 66-page report highlights the progress made by the Medical College, Pakistan over the past five years. Among other things, the report shows that the number of applications to all MC, PK programmes increased four-fold to more than 10,000; enrollment in continuing medical education courses grew ten-fold to 111,000; and annual peer-reviewed publications increased by nearly one-third. Read More President of Pakistan Presents Award to AKUH, Karachi At a ceremony in Islamabad, President Asif Ali Zardari presented the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi with the Best Hospital of the Year award from the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Our Chancellor's vision and our teams’ tireless efforts have elevated AKUH into a leading and one of the most trusted health care systems in Pakistan,” said Dr Farhat Abbas, CEO of the AKU Health Services, Pakistan. Read More


	*Creating Knowledge*



	Landmark Manual Set to Enhance Care in Pakistan The product of a two-year effort involving hundreds of contributors, The AKU Manual of Clinical Practice Guidelines provides evidence-based recommendations for care that are tailored to the Pakistani context. AKU and the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine have signed an agreement to promote the dissemination of the guidelines across the country. Read More AKU and Sindh Address Heat Wave Preparedness The Centre of Excellence for Trauma and Emergencies took the first steps toward improving institutional and individual preparedness for heat waves in Sindh during a productive meeting with officials from the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and other institutions. PDMA Director of Operations Imdad Hussain Siddique praised AKU for taking “a big step in gathering different stakeholders under one roof on a very important topic.” Read More New Volume Highlights Orthopaedic Surgery in Pakistan Professor Masood Umer and Associate Professor Haroon Ur Rashid edited a new book, Orthopaedic Innovations in Developing Countries, published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. Featuring two dozen contributions, the volume highlights the creative approaches of Pakistan’s orthopaedic surgeons to delivering high-quality care in a resource-constrained environment. Read More Bacterial Infections May Lead to Developmental Disorders A study by AKU faculty of 400 children in Karachi between the ages of 6 and 9 found that those who had a serious bacterial infection in early infancy were substantially more likely to post an abnormal score on a test designed to detect neurodevelopmental and other disabilities. As many as 1 in 10 newborns in South Asia may suffer a serious bacterial infection. Read More Books by ISMC Professor and Alum Win Award Assistant Professor Sanaa Alimia of AKU’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations (ISMC) won the Bloomsbury Pakistan Book Prize for Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan (University of Pennsylvania Press). ISMC graduate Omar Kasmani was also awarded the prize for Queer Companions: Religion, Public Intimacy, and Saintly Affects in Pakistan (Duke University Press). Read More


	*Building Capacity*



	Developing School Leaders in East Africa A total of 108 school leaders in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have completed an 18-month Diploma in Educational Leadership and Management offered by AKU’s Institute for Educational Development, East Africa and its public-sector partners in each country. Delivery of the diploma is one of a number of activities undertaken by the Institute under the Foundations for Learning project funded by Global Affairs Canada and Aga Khan Foundation Canada. Read More Partnering with Government on Primary Health Care The Department of Community Health Sciences is collaborating with the public sector to strengthen primary health care services across Pakistan. The two-year initiative will create a consortium of stakeholders under government leadership to exchange best practices, share data and conduct research that can inform programmes and policies. The “Primary Health Care Learning Agenda in Pakistan” project is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Supporting Early Child Development in Chitral The Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan is on its way to establishing more than 50 early childhood care and education centres in hard-to-reach areas of Chitral. Each centre is equipped with toys, books, art supplies and learning aids, and is staffed by a teacher that has received five weeks of training. Funding for the project has been provided by IREAD. Read More Enhancing Critical Care in KP As part of the Tele-ICU Project, faculty are working to improve patient care at the 36-bed intensive care unit of Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospital in Khyber Paktunkhwa. Simulation-based workshops will be offered for physicians and nurses, and staff from the hospital will spend two months working and learning in the ICU of the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. In addition, AKU staff will offer regular teleconsultations to physicians via the Tele-ICU platform, assisting them with challenging cases. Allied Health Professionals Earn Certification A total of 48 allied health professionals celebrated the completion of their training at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Since 1985, AKUH has trained more than 4,000 such professionals. Training is currently offered in 22 fields, ranging from physical therapy to cardiopulmonary diagnostics. Graduates are employed at AKUH and other hospitals across Pakistan and abroad. Collaboration Supports Occupational Health Efforts to improve worker health and safety in Sindh have received a boost from a new digital system for recording occupational diseases and injuries. Collaboration between the Department of Community Health Sciences and the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution enabled implementation of the system at SESSI hospitals in Karachi. Read More


	*New Leaders Appointed*



	New SONAM Dean is AKU Alumna AKU alumna Salimah Walani has returned to Karachi to lead the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan as its Dean. Dean Walani previously served as Vice President of Global Programs at the March of Dimes and Global Policy and Advocacy Advisor at Miracle Feet. She taught at AKU for six years, has held faculty positions at multiple universities in the U.S. and has been an advisor to UNICEF, the WHO and other international organizations. She holds a master’s in nursing from Simmons University in Boston, a master’s in public health from Harvard University and a PhD in nursing research from New York University. Read More New CRM Director Appointed Professor Syed Ather Enam was appointed Director of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. Dr Enam has been Chair of the Department of Surgery for seven years. He is a U.S. Board-certified neurosurgeon and holds a PhD in Neuroscience from Northwestern University in the U.S. Dr Enam has published more than 300 articles and book chapters and has received awards in both the U.S. and Pakistan, including the Government of Pakistan’s Sitara-i-Imtiaz. COEWCH Gets New Director Dr Salman Kirmani was appointed Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health. Dr Kirmani has led the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health and the Division of Women and Child Health at AKU. He has a joint appointment in the Section of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism and a cross-appointment in the Section of Molecular Pathology. He is the author of nearly 100 peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters in the fields of genetics and paediatric endocrinology. Prior to joining AKU a decade ago, he was an Assistant Professor at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in the United States.


	*Focusing on the Environment*



	Microforests Come to AKU Faculty, staff and students came together to plant 1,500 trees at AKU sites in Nairobi, Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Kampala and Karachi, creating five “microforests.” Microforests are small sites – in this case, 150 square metres or less – packed with numerous tree species that provide a range of environmental benefits. Read More Examination Board Leads Tree-planting Campaign A total of 86 schools across Pakistan planted nearly 4,400 trees as part of a campaign led by the AKU Examination Board and supported by the Institute for Educational Development, Pakistan and the Aga Khan Education Services. Read More Learning from Traditional Building Practices Professor Jeff Tan of the Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations will explore how the traditional building techniques employed at George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Malaysia, can help urban areas to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The project is supported by a grant from The British Academy and involves the Aga Khan Trust for Culture and several research institutions in Malaysia. Read More Supporting Sustainability in Asia and Africa The University furthered its efforts to advance environmental sustainability through a wide range of initiatives. It held a workshop for 40+ government officials to support Pakistan's upcoming National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. It hosted delegates from the Kenya Green Building Society to share the energy-saving design and building practices used at the University Centre in Nairobi. At the French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children in Kabul, a water treatment plant was installed that enables wastewater to be reused for landscape irrigation. A survey by World Agroforestry of the University's 3,700-acre Arusha Climate and Environmental Research Centre will assist in restoration of the site's soil. Across the University's campuses, the third annual President's Challenge for Climate Solutions is engaging students in the quest to conserve scarce water resources.


	*Beyond the Classroom*



	AKU Sports Olympiad The fifth edition of the AKU Sports Olympiad brought together 1,300 student athletes from more than 20 universities. Competitions were held in 10 different sports categories. AKU placed third, behind the Institute of Business Management and Iqra University. The event was organized by Student Affairs, in collaboration with the Student Sports Society and the Sports and Rehabilitation Centre. Inspiring the Next Generation of Researchers Organized by students from AKU’s Medical College, Pakistan, the International Student Research Conference attracted more than 1,000 students from 30 universities for two days of networking and learning. The conference featured scientific and teaching sessions, journal clubs, meetings with professors and poster presentations. Read More


	*Individual Honours & Awards*



	Numerous leaders, faculty and staff have earned prestigious honours, awards and appointments in recent months from a wide range of institutions, including the Government of Pakistan, the National Academy of Medicine, the Kingdom of Belgium and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Click here for a list of the honorees.


	*Did You See…*



	Twenty years ago, Dr Saulat Fatmi performed open-heart surgery on a 3-year-old boy from rural Sindh, Kamran Karwani. This month, Kamran joined him as an intern in cardiothoracic surgery. Read More There is nothing like the moment you find out you were admitted to AKU. See what it means to the members of the Class of 2028 at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Watch the video here


	*Did You Know…*



	AKU Anniversary Exhibition Opens in Ottawa Following successful showings in Karachi and Nairobi, AKU's 40th anniversary exhibition, A Transformative Vision, opened in Ottawa, Canada, on October 9th in the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat. As part of a high-level programme hosted by Diplomatic Representative Dr Mahmoud Eboo, the exhibition was viewed by numerous dignitaries, including diplomats from more than 60 countries, the Speaker of the House of Commons and many other elected and appointed Canadian government officials. The exhibition will remain open through November 30th at the Fumihiko Maki-designed Delegation building, which is the representational office in Canada of the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat. Since it opened its doors in 2006, the AKU-managed French Medical Institute for Mothers and Children in Kabul has cared for more than 2 million patients.





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