Aga Khan University set to expand

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Aga Khan University set to expand

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http://thecitizen.co.tz/newe.php?id=10036

Aga Khan University set to expand
By Jami Makan, The Citizen Correspondent, Nairobi

The Aga Khan University (AKU) plans to expand its activities in East Africa, it was announced here yesterday.

"Over the next 10 years, AKU will be investing significantly to meet the region's needs for tertiary education," the university's president, Mr Firoz Rasul, said during this year's graduation ceremony.

The private university, which also celebrated its 25th anniversary, will establish a new Faculty of Health Sciences in Nairobi, where teaching is scheduled to begin in 2010. It will also build new facilities in Tanzania, Mr Rasul said.

More than 180 Kenyans earned degrees in nursing and medicine during AKU�s fifth graduation ceremony in Nairobi.

The private institution seeks to play a bigger role in the region's health sector, with plans to build new facilities in Tanzania and establish a Faculty of Health Sciences in Nairobi.

The German Ambassador to Kenya, Mr Walter Lindner, and Russian envoy Valery Yegoshkin were among the dignitaries present, as the smiling graduates received certificates from Mr Rasul, who urged them to strive and give back something to their communities.

"Make an impact wherever you go; an impact that is reflective of the personal development, good friendship and intellectual growth you gained at AKU," he said during the ceremony.

The chief guest, Mr Joseph Massaquoi, of Unesco, delivered a similar message. He asked the new graduates to remain in East Africa, calling the movement of health workers to the developed countries a disappointing trend.

According to a 2006 report by the World Health Organisation, such movements�collectively referred to as the "brain drain"� are costly, depriving Kenya, Tanzania and other African countries of rural health services, tax revenue and professional role models.

"Our study estimated the economic loss incurred by Kenya as a result of emigration of one doctor to be about $517,931 and one nurse to be about $38,868," the researchers stated.

During yesterday's ceremony, 85 registered nurses received Bachelor of Science degrees, while 94 got special diplomas in either community health or emergency care.

The programme, which has additional teaching hubs in Dar es Salaam and Kampala, allows working nurses to study part-time.

After training for at least two years, they are tested by external examiners from countries such as the Philippines, South Africa and Pakistan to ensure they meet international standards.

Members of this year's graduating class work at big public and private hospitals in Nairobi, as well as a variety of district hospitals and charity health centres outside the capital city.

One works for the United Nations in Garissa, while the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Public Health were also represented. Six doctors received post-graduate degrees in medicine, after spending four years specialising in general surgery, radiology or internal medicine.

During the proceedings, they wore green robes embroidered with ornate gold stitching just like the nurses, but with round green caps instead of white ones.
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Research Seminar on Gender Differences in Girls and Boys Play


March 21, 2009

Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development, Research and Policy Studies (RAPS) invites you to a research seminar on Gender Differences in Girls and Boys Play on Friday, March 27, 2009.

Time and Venue
3:00 - 4:30 pm
Multipurpose Hall, Ground Floor, Block B, AKU-IED

Research Area
A study based on experiences with early year's teachers and children in Pakistan.
Research Abstract

Principal Investigators
Almina Pardhan and Ms Audrey Juma

Admission is Free
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Centre of English Language
Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development

5th International Seminar
Teaching English in Multilingual Contexts:
Current Challenges, Future Directions

April 18-19, 2009

http://www.aku.edu/events/cel2009/

****

Women Inc.



March 31, 2009

The Working Group for Women at Aga Khan University invites you to Women Inc., an interactive session with inspiring women leaders from Pakistan on March 31, 2009.

Time and Venue
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
AKU Auditorium

Speakers

Dr Zaira Wahab
Head MPhil and PhD Programme, Iqra University
Ms Zehra Mehdi
General Manager CSR, Karachi Electric Supply Corporation
Ms Alia Shahid
Chief Program Manager, Reform Support Unit, Education and Literacy Department
For any further information, please contact:
Dr Anita Allana
Coordinator, Working Group for Women
Tel: +92 21 486 4413
Email: anita.allana@aku.edu

http://www.aku.edu/events/womensinc-Mar31-2009.shtml
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53 Nurses and 98 Midwives graduate from Ghazanfar Institute of Health Sciences in Kabul

March 31, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Afghanistan, Aga Khan University, Asia.
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Afghan nurses attend a graduation ceremony in Kabul on March 29, 2009. Some 53 nurses and 98 midwives graduated from Ghazanfar Institute of Health Sciences, supported by The Aga Khan University in Karachi and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) during a graduation ceremony in Kabul. MASSOUD HOSSAINI/AFP/Getty Images

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... -in-kabul/
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Aga Khan University offering study courses in Muslim cultures

LONDON, April 8 (APP): Aga Khan University in collaboration with its Canadian counterpart is offering a short 12‑day intensive courses on Muslim cultures at its Central London premises from July 20.

Abdou Filali‑Ansary,Director, Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations, AKU, said Tuesday the short courses seek to promote a sound understanding of Muslim cultures through an intellectually stimulating and inspiring survey of the histories and cultures of Muslims using the tools of the social sciences and humanities.

The Canadian institute involved in partnership is the Vancouver‑based Simon Fraser University.

The Director further said the Programme has been designed with a good mix of classroom and off‑site activities.

“It is ideal for those seeking a short but comprehensive introduction to multi‑faceted nature of Muslim cultures. Topics such as the context of pre‑Muslim Arabia, the foundational sources of Islam, political developments, the making of the legal thought, the flourishing artistic and scholarly environment, the engagement with modern ideas and institutions and key contemporary issues will be discussed during the Programme.”

According to Ansary, faculty from AKU‑ISMC, SFU, and other academic institutions will be teaching in the Programme that concludes on July 31 with the certificate awarding ceremony.

http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?opt ... 4&Itemid=2
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Summer Programme



Expressions of Diversity:
A Contemporary Introduction to Muslim Cultures


Programme Schedule and Session Descriptions
Teaching Faculty
About the Organisers
Registration and Fees
Offered by AKU-ISMC and the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures (CCSMSC) at Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, the Summer Programme is ideal for those seeking a comprehensive and interactive contemporary introduction to Muslim cultures. The underlying principle of the Programme is that education about cultures is a necessary precursor to the enhancement of intercultural dialogue.

To this end, Programme participants will engage with wide-ranging topics such as arts and architecture, civil society, ethics, law, literature, mysticism and Qur’anic studies. By addressing various elements of the history, cultures and contemporary challenges of Muslim societies, participants will:

Understand the chronological framework of the history of Muslims;
Grapple with the contested nature of concepts, practices and interpretations;
Learn about tensions between traditions and dissent in Muslim contexts;
Become familiar with diverse artistic and literary expressions;
Reflect upon contemporary debates about the role of religion, including the rise of extremism;
Consider the future prospects of and challenges within Muslim societies.

http://www.aku.edu/ISMC/shortcourses/su ... amme.shtml
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The MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship


The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. After receiving 67 nominations from 40 universities in 19 countries, the MacJannet Prize Selection Committee has chosen the following programs:

The first place winner, which will receive $5,000, is the Urban Health Program based in Aga Khan University in Pakistan. This innovative and long-standing program run by Aga Khan University's Department of Community Health Sciences provides critical health and socio-economic support to the squatter settlements of Karachi.

Administrators at Aga Khan University founded the program in 1983, when public health efforts received little attention from other Pakistani universities. Since the establishment of the Department of Community Health Sciences, whose mandate was to help develop community-based knowledge and skills among its students, many other medical schools have used the Urban Health Program as a model for their own public health work. Indeed, the program is a model for all sustainable university-based civic engagement programs. The communities involved have been mobilized to form their own management organizations and initiate micro-credit and skill building projects. Many graduates, inspired by their hands-on work through the Urban Health Program, now serve in ministries of health or find other ways to continue their commitment to public health and poverty alleviation. The $5,000 monetary prize will be used to further the program's inspiring work. Learn more at the Urban Health Program website>>

http://www.macjannetprize.org/
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Medical studies and research from Aga Khan University

April 22, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Health, Pakistan.
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Alzheimer Disease Genetics; Research on Alzheimer disease genetics detailed by scientists at Aga Khan University
Researchers from Aga Khan University, Medical Department describe findings in pharmaceuticals
Aneurysm; Studies from Aga Khan University in the area of aneurysm described

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... niversity/
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Post by kmaherali »

AKU-Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Aga Khan University (AKU), based in Karachi, is in the process of creating a Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS).

AKU has established an international reputation for innovation and rigour in medical, nursing and teacher education at both undergraduate and graduate levels and in its developmental and training work for schools, including a very successful Master's programme. It currently operates on 11 campuses in Pakistan, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Egypt and the United Kingdom, and has programmes in Syria and Afghanistan.

Early in the next decade, AKU will open a residential Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) that will provide a general education curriculum at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It will develop a new breed of leaders, in government and business, who are equipped with critical-thinking and problem-solving capabilities, and a global outlook.

This new campus, to be located on 1,100 acres on the outskirts of Karachi, will offer a range of undergraduate and graduate courses, from archeology to quantum physics, from music to South Asian history. In the first phase, FAS will enroll 1,500 undergraduate and 100 postgraduate students. Undergraduates will receive an education which encompasses the natural and social sciences, alongside the humanities. Teaching will be student-centred and will draw on the latest tools of information technology. Students will begin with a broad core curriculum and then proceed to a single or dual area of concentration for advanced work. Special encouragement will be given to interdisciplinary work.

A new campus in East Africa will serve as AKU'S principal site for the region and will support existing nursing and medical education programmes in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The campus will serve the University's planned academic programmes in the liberal arts in East Africa. Students from all over Africa and beyond are expected to enroll. These developments would be in addition to the already significant investments in medical education planned for the Nairobi campus.

Expansion at these two new main campuses is expected to double the student body and triple the size of the overall physical campus.

The University is in the process of developing institutional strategies for a number of new graduate disciplines which will be located either in Karachi or in East Africa. These are likely to include Architecture and Human Settlement; Government, Civil Society and Public Policy; Media and Communications; Leisure and Tourism; and Education and Human Development.

Dr Marcia A. Grant, Planning Head FAS

http://www.aku.edu/university/adp/akufas.shtml

****
Photos at:

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/catego ... -sciences/
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INTERNATIONAL CANCER NURSING SYMPOSIUM

HOSTED BY AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Coastweek -- The International Cancer Nursing Symposium themed "Building Capacity to Deal with the Challenges of Cancer in Kenya " has opened at Aga Khan University Hospital , Nairobi (AKUH, N).

The five day workshop brings together 150 nurses from Kenya , Uganda , Tanzania , Rwanda and visiting Faculty from Toronto , Canada to deliberate on ways of enhancing the education of nurses in cancer care in Africa .

In an opening address, Prof. Margaret I. Fitch, RN PhD Head, Oncology Nursing Odette Cancer Centre, Toronto , Canada ; Past President, International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care and a visiting Faculty of Aga Khan University, noted the key role played by nurses across the cancer continuum.

"Death from chronic diseases such as cancer is rapidly increasing in low and middle income countries and there is a need for continued global partnerships and nursing collaborations in Research, Education, Policy Development and Practice", she emphasized.

Ahead of the completion of the Heart and Cancer Centre scheduled to open early 2010, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, in collaboration with The International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care aims to lay a foundation for the future by creating a pool of cancer nurses whose knowledge and skills have an impact in their practicing environment and on the patient's outcomes.

The first of its kind in East and Central Sub-Saharan Africa, AKUH, N Heart and Cancer Centre will serve as the regional referral heart and cancer centre providing high quality tertiary cardiac and cancer care, including training and research.

AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY : Founded by His Highness the Aga Khan and Chartered in 1983, Aga Khan University (AKU) is a non-denominational institution open to all, irrespective of religion, ethnicity, gender or national origin or financial standing.

The University's admission policy is needs-blind and based on merit.

Aga Khan University Hospital , Nairobi (AKUH, N) is a private, not-for-profit teaching and referral institution that provides secondary and tertiary level health care services.

Celebrating 50 years, AKUH, N is committed to building capacity in East Africa by enhancing the number of qualified professionals in East African region that has long suffered from workforce attrition and an increasing disease burden.

AKU has established an international reputation for innovation and rigor in medical, nursing and teacher education at the undergraduate and graduate levels and in its developmental and training work for schools.

It currently operates eleven teaching sites in eight countries including Tanzania , Kenya , Uganda , Egypt , Pakistan , the United Kingdom , Syria and Afghanistan .

AKU is a part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of private, non-denominational development agencies working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East .

The Network's nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion.

The AKDN's underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society.
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AKU hosts seminar on World Asthma Day

Wednesday, May 06, 2009
By By our correspondent

Karachi

Children exposed to tobacco smoke are at a higher risk of asthma attacks, said Aga Khan University (AKU) Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Head Dr Javaid Khan at a seminar held at AKUH to commemorate World Asthma Day on May 5.

He further said that Asthma is a chronic lung disease that causes breathlessness and wheezing and is most common among children. In Pakistan, about 11 per cent children and 5 per cent adults suffer from asthma. He also called on the government to implement the Prohibition of Smoking and Protection of Non-Smokers Health Ordinance, passed in 2002, which calls for a ban on smoking at all public places, including restaurants and public transport.

AKU Consultant Immunologist and Allergist Dr Asif Imam said asthma attacks can be triggered by a number of factors that include insects, animals or inhaled allergens such as dust mites, pollen and tobacco smoke.

Department of Medicine Associate Professor Dr Nawal Salahuddin agreed and stressed that the goal of asthma treatment is to achieve and maintain control of the disease.
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Book review: Madrassa versus enlightenment —by Khaled Ahmed

Islam and Education: Conflict and Conformity in Pakistan’s Madrassas;

By Saleem H Ali: OUP 2009;

Pp214; Price Rs 495

Saleem H Ali has emerged as an informed and credible commentator on Pakistan, writing his column in Daily Times especially on things relating to Pakistan’s radicalising religious institutions. This book has come out of his fieldwork in Pakistan and is a valuable addition to our knowledge of the madrassa systems here.

At the time of independence in 1947, there were only 137 madrassas in Pakistan. According to a 1956 survey, there were 244 madrassas in all of Pakistan (excluding East Pakistan). While there is no comprehensive census of madrassas in Pakistan at present, a reasonable estimate based on Ali’s review of multiple empirical and journalistic sources would suggest that there between 12,000 and 15,000 madrassas in Pakistan, with an enrolment of around 1.5 and 2 million.

In contrast, there are approximately 15,000 government schools with an enrolment of around 16 million, and 35,000 secular private schools with an enrolment of 6 million, and 25,000 auqaf or mosque schools (not madrassas) with an enrolment of around 1.5 million (p.25). There are other sources inside Pakistan who insist that the madrassa is too large and too variegated to be counted accurately; they say total number of madrassas could go up to 22,000!

Do we hate madrassas? Some of us do because we can’t seem to convince anyone that they are dangerous. Those who sympathise with them despite clear research-proved evidence of extremism in them consciously support the expanding ability of the madrassas to reject the state of Pakistan. The xenophobic mindset is in the ascendant. Those who hate foreign-linked institutions far outnumber those who are leery of the madrassas.

The Aga Khan Board controversy started when President Musharraf signed an executive order (the Presidential Ordinance of November 8, 2002; CXIV/2002) inducting the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKUEB) into the national education system. The AKUEB was selected due to its excellent record in higher learning and would join the existing 24 examination boards nationwide. It was given the task of upgrading and modernising the declining standards of education and of holding examinations for private educational institutions.

The religious parties objected because the Aga Khan’s followers are Ismailis who are not accepted as Muslims in the conservative circles. They added to the suspicion of examinership the involvement of the US in funding. USAID, in funding some of the educational programmes of the Aga Khan Foundation, including a $4 million grant for the establishment of the examination board, raised the hackles of opponents of the Ismailis.

Sectarian politics was once again sparked by rhetoric from the leading madrassa Dawat wal Irshad in Muridke. In the internet edition of its weekly publication Ghazwa (November 4, 2004), the madrassa warned against the converting the Northern Areas into an Ismaili state. Hafiz Saeed wrote: “Musharraf is working on making the Northern Areas an Ismaili state. He has been pressured by Christina Rocca (former US assistant secretary of state for South Asia) to hand over Kashmir to Prince Karim Aga Khan so that he could annex it with the Northern Areas and make it his fiefdom”. Author Ali thinks that this kind of conspiracy-mongering by the madrassa was “disturbingly similar to the campaign against the Ahmedis”. (p.113)

The book finds the jihadists also providing self-selected surveys against Ismailis. Thus the Daily Jasarat reported (December 19, 2004): According to a survey by the Islami Jamiat-e Tulaba (IJT), 854,000 people have rejected the Aga Khan Board examination system called AKB. There was only a certain amount of popularity of AKB in Sindh while elsewhere 93.02 per cent rejected the AKB. Director of the Khair-ul-Madaris in Multan, Maulana Hanif Jalandhari, accused the government of inconsistency — trying to give independence to the Aga Khan Boa while restricting madrassa procedures.

However, the major difference between the Aga Khan Board and the madrassa system is that the exam criteria for the Aga Khan programme, and indeed all private schools, are still subject to government approval, whereas the madrassa programmes at present have no government oversight (p.113). But madrassas have other leverage too because of the support they get from the religious parties. In March 2004, the MMA, the alliance of five religious parties, disrupted National Assembly proceedings and staged a walkout protesting the exclusion of certain Quranic verses from the new edition of a state-prescribed biology textbook.

The clerics threatened the government upon which the federal education minister Zubaida Jalal immediately clarified that no chapter or verses relating to jihad or Holy War or shahadat (martyrdom) had been deleted from textbook and that the particular verse referring to jihad had only been shifted from the biology textbook for intermediate students (Classes XI and XII) to the matriculation level course (Class X). Why should jihad or shahadat be mentioned in a biological textbook? (p.115)

The book sees that ‘highly negative material is presented regarding minority religious groups’, particularly Hindus and Jews. This is what the government needs to correct, ‘but hate mongering should not be conflated with an immediate reduction in Islamic curricular content as it is likely to lead to neither policy being implemented’. Both hate speech and Islamic content have collectively been the focus of extensive criticism in Pakistan by secular NGOs such as the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), whose report titled Subtle Subversion (2004) had created quite a storm in Pakistan (p.115).

Saleem H Ali says: “When I interviewed Maulana Abdul Aziz Ghazi [of Red Mosque or Lal Masjid] in the winter of 2004, he came across as someone who regarded most foreign researchers with suspicion and felt that Islamabad was being indoctrinated by foreign elements. There was little doubt that this was a madrassa with a mission of sanctimonious reform of the urban corridors of power. The governing board of madrassas was well aware of this radicalisation but kept a low profile on the matter until early 2007 when they finally expelled the Red Mosque family of madrassas from their board.” (p.173)

Maulana Ghazi’s students had taken out their anger several years earlier on the local market in Islamabad containing Melody Cinema after the killing of a notable religious cleric to send a message to the government which was never really interested in reading them. After the 2007 confrontation, the author was handed a flier by a youth lamenting the Red Mosque siege and calling for a national uprising against the government.

The pamphlet contained the other exhortation of a caliphate and termed readership in Urdu as ‘Ahl-e-Quwwat’, meaning ‘People of Power’, and exhorted them to join together to establish the authority of Islam, indicating that ‘no other form of governance was acceptable to them’. The note was signed Hizb-al-Tahrir — a well-known militant organisation that has its roots in the United Kingdom.

Author Ali recommends that all madrassas may be shown the Quranic verse Sura 2 Verse 52 which states quite clearly that ‘there is no compulsion in religion’ (p.177), but the fact is that during the Lal Masjid showdown a TV reporter did ask the danda-bearing girls of the seminary about this very verse. The answer was rehearsed: it applies only to the non-Muslims. In other words, the concessionary verse is for the non-Muslims. Once you become a Muslim, you will be coerced against munkiraat and coerced in favour of marufaat. And this goes into far more detail than just pornography. You can be whipped for shaving.

One agrees with the author when says: “Like the famous Stockholm prisoner, many in the Frontier became so entranced with these intellectual incarcerators that they actually began to like them. The educated class began to believe that somehow the fanatics must be correct — for they had a contorted courage of conviction that made them appear like mythical super-heroes.” *

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 2009_pg3_5
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International Nurses Day
International Nursing Symposium on Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Care Innovations

June 6, 2009

Aga Khan University Department of Continuing Professional Education in collaboration with Division of Nursing Services and School of Nursing announces International Nursing Symposium on Delivering Quality, Serving Communities: Nurses Leading Care Innovations to mark International Nurses Day on Saturday, June 6, 2009.

Time and Venue
8:00 am - 4:00 pm
AKU Auditorium, Karachi, Pakistan

Call for Abstracts

Scientific Committee of International Nursing Symposium is pleased to invite abstracts on the following sub-themes:

Nursing Care Innovations
Home/ School Health Care Innovations
Health Promotion/ Primary Health Care Innovations
Health Care Delivery Systems Innovations
Innovations in Health Education
http://www.aku.edu/events/IntNursesDay_June6-2009.shtml

*****
Veteran mountaineer and environmentalist Nazir Sabir speaks at the Aga Khan University

May 9, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Ismaili Muslims in the News, Pakistan.
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DAWN.com: Walking in the shadow of giants – By Qasim A. Moini

KARACHI: Veteran mountaineer and environmentalist Nazir Sabir makes climbing 8,000-metre-plus mountains sound a lot easier than it actually is. At least this is how it appeared during a lecture he delivered on Thursday as he took all those present on a virtual tour of the Roof of the World by relating the many adventures he has had in his over three-decade-long career scaling the mighty peaks of the Karakoram and the Himalaya ranges, among others.

via DAWN.COM.

Renowned Pakistani mountaineer and environmentalist Nazir Sabir, the first Pakistani to stand at the summit of Mount Everest, lamented that his country, despite hosting some of the world’s highest peaks, lacks national patronage that could establish a mountaineering institute.

via The News International

Photograph and further reporting at Pamir Times.

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... niversity/
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Health professionals cite need for more degree, certification programmes

Tuesday, May 12, 2009
By By Farooq Baloch

Karachi

“There is a need of trained nurses, and thus we should have certification and recertification programmes for nurses at national level,” said Aga Khan University BSc Nursing Programme Director Jacqueline Dias while talking to The News on the eve of International Nurses Day.

Dias said that there is a need for teachers’ strategic human resource development programme to meet the shortage of trainers. There is no legislation regarding nurses training, she said, and added that all nursing schools should have accreditation with the concerned regulatory authority.

Dias said that as far as nursing is concerned, quality, monitoring and evaluation had been missing in the past, while any one completing a nine-month diploma could become a nurse. However, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has sanctioned a national curriculum for nursing courses, which is being implemented for the first time. She also said that there is an improvement as they have switched from diploma to a four year BSc programme.

Talking about the shortage of nurses, she optimistically said that due to mushrooming of nursing schools in Sindh and Punjab, more people are joining this profession. The importance of nurses is being realised now since they can also bring foreign exchange by working in the Middle East and other countries.

Experts claim that the country is facing a huge shortage of trained nurses, and the government should take practical measures in this regard. According to Pakistan Nursing Council statistics of 2007, only 2343 nurses, 2285 midwives and 911 leady health visitors were trained in Pakistan. “There should be eight nurses to one doctor but in our country there is only one nurse for every 15 doctors, and this is a very poor ratio and clearly demonstrates the shortage of nurses,” said Pakistan Medical Association Karachi General Secretary Dr Samrina Hashmi.

There are only about 13 training centers in all over Pakistan despite the fact that we need a whole army of paramedics and nurses, she said. “Without nurses we can’t meet the needs of the community because once a doctor has done his job, it is over to the nurses or leady health visitors to continue serving the community,” she continued.

She pointed out that nurses in Pakistan are facing so many problems, especially in terms of meeting their financial needs. She cited the example of the Civil Hospital Karachi, where nurses have not been promoted since 1992. Additionally, the stipend given to nurses is Rs1600 which is very small given that they perform 12 hours duty. There are about 160 posts of nurses that have been lying vacant in the CHK for a long time but no postings have been made on the same.

Responding to a question about the shortage of nurses and low stipends, Dr Samrina Hashmi said, “We have a small health budget, which is 0.5 per cent of the GDP.” She further said that by the time the amount reaches the right place, only 10 percent of that 0.5 percent is left for the health sector. “We can not encounter these problems unless the budget is increased,” she commented.

Nurses are hardworking but due to our poor structure they are not given good stipend, and those who some how get professionally trained move abroad to meet their economic needs, she concluded.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=177125
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Corrective Heart Surgery in Children



May 15, 2009

Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi invites you to a health awareness session on Corrective Heart Surgery in Children on Friday, May 15, 2009.

Time and Venue
4:00 – 5:30 pm
AKU Auditorium, Karachi, Pakistan

Speakers
Dr Muneer Amanullah, Consultant Paediatric Cardiac Surgeon
Dr Mehnaz Atiq, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist

Admission is free

http://www.aku.edu/events/corrheart-may18-2009.shtml

****
Science and Health News from Aga Khan University research

May 14, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Health, Pakistan.
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Scientists at Aga Khan University target life sciences
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfvjdmwn_156ggwks2fw

Researchers from Aga Khan University describe findings in food science
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfvjdmwn_157htr824f3

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... -research/
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World No Tobacco Day

May 28, 2009

Aga Khan University's Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine invites you to celebrate the World No Tobacco Day on Thursday, May 28, 2008.

Time and Venue
2:00 PM - 5:00 PM
AKU Auditorium, Karachi, Pakistan

Call for Poster Competition
The organising committee also invites posters on the theme Picture Warning on Cigarette Packs. The posters should be submitted latest by May 26, 2009 at Nazarali Walji Building, 2 nd Floor, Pulmonary Clinic from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm.

Winner of the poster competition will receive an attractive prize and a certificate.

Guidelines for Poster Design

Poster size: 22 X 27 inches
Poster should be readable from a distance of 5 feet
Poster should colourful and attractive
Poster should carry a message relevant to the theme
Author(s) name and their unit/institution should be mentioned at the back of the poster
For further information, please contact:
Ms Humaira Waheed
Out Patient Department of Nursing Services
Aga Khan University Hospital, Karach
Stadium Road, P. O. Box 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan
Tel: 92 21 486 5706 or 493 0051 Ext 5706
http://www.aku.edu/events/notobacco-may28-2009.shtml
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Health and Science news from Aga Khan University
May 20, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Health, Pakistan.
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New perinatal epidemiology study findings reported from Aga Khan University
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcxth47_04kzgbhb

Research on life sciences in children detailed by scientists at Aga Khan University, Department of Community Health Sciences
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcxth47_1c733v9fx

Cooperation between exam boards, Education department needed, workshop at Aga Khan University Examination Board
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcxth47_2gctbhscs

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... niversity/
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Aga Khan University Telehealth Training Course begins on Monday May 25, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Pakistan.
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23 May 2009 Daily The Pak Banker

KARACHI`: Department of Continuing Professional Education, Aga Khan University plans to organize a short training course on Telehealth in the Developing World from May 25 to May 30.

According to an announcement the six day course will be held at the Department of Community Health Sciences, from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm.

Six makeshift schools are in Jalozai camp alone, three each for boys and girls which have been established to help bring some sense of normality to the lives of traumatised children.

“So far a total of 3,655 students have been enrolled in these schools”, an official of Unicef said.


“The number of male students at these schools is 2,795, with only 865 female students as many parents still fear that Taliban can target them,” he said, on condition of anonymity.

Similarly, around one thousand students have been put in the four schools set up by Unicef, Muslim Hands International, LAAS and Philonthrop at the IDPs camp in Sheikh Yaseen Town, Mardan. Hundreds of students are also attending schools set up in Swabi camp.

They are provided free of cost books, bags and stationary at these temporary institutions. The books are according to the syllabus being taught in the schools of NWFP province.

Dozens of local teachers and student volunteers tutor these students, while services of educated people from the IDPs are also being hired for the purpose.

Although, we are away from our homes and waiting anxiously for peace to return in our area, yet the life here is not all that gloomy because we have started going to schools, said Jahangeer Khan 16, from Saidu Sharif, Swat.

There are around 77,000 children of school age within the camps, while a total of 108,000 are living with host communities in different parts of the country, according to the UN.

Though, the steps taken for imparting education to these kids are commendable, yet there is much more to be done. The whole nation also owe the responsibility to cure nostalgia, the majority is suffering.

Sooner or later they will go back to their homes. What is needed, is to ensure congenial atmosphere to quench their thirst for knowledge in an amicable way

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... on-monday/
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KARACHI: Pakistan should implement already existing anti-tobacco laws to protect people from the tobacco epidemic, especially as the country has signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control — requiring signatories to post ‘health warnings describing the harmful effects of tobacco use’ on cigarette packets and recommending that pictures form part of the warnings.

This is what experts recommended at a seminar organised by Aga Khan University (AKU) in collaboration with the Pakistan Chest Society, the National Alliance for Tobacco Control and Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA) to commemorate World No Tobacco Day and its 2009 theme ‘Tobacco Health Warnings,’ APP reports.

http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/daw ... ar-szh--03
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Al-Ba'ath University and Agha Khan University of Pakistan Discuss Developing Curricula of Faculty of Nursing

Local News /
Jun 03, 2009 - 03:35 PM
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Homs, (SANA)- Rector of al-Ba'ath University Amer Fakhoury and a delegation from Agha Khan University of Pakistan discussed Wednesday means of developing curricula of Faculty of Nursing at al-Ba'ath University.

Fakhoury pointed out to the significance of fruitful scientific cooperation between both universities particularly with the newly-established Faculty of Nursing 2007-2008 which forms an important edifice at the University that contributes to supporting the scientific medical march.

Haifa Said /Idelbi

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Aga Khan University wins the MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship
April 16, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Pakistan.
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The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation are pleased to announce the winners of the first annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship. After receiving 67 nominations from 40 universities in 19 countries, the MacJannet Prize Selection Committee has chosen the following programs:

The first place winner, which will receive $5,000, is the Urban Health Program based in Aga Khan University in Pakistan. This innovative and long-standing program run by Aga Khan’s Department of Community Health Sciences provides critical health and socio-economic support to the squatter settlements of Karachi.

Administrators at Aga Khan University founded the program in 1983, when public health efforts received little attention from other Pakistani universities. Since the establishment of the Department of Community Health Sciences, whose mandate was to help develop community-based knowledge and skills among its students, many other medical schools have used the Urban Health Program as a model for their own public health work. Indeed, the program is a model for all sustainable university-based civic engagement programs. The communities involved have been mobilized to form their own management organizations and initiate micro-credit and skill building projects. Many graduates, inspired by their hands-on work through the Urban Health Program, now serve in ministries of health or find other ways to continue their commitment to public health and poverty alleviation. The $5,000 monetary prize will be used to further the program’s inspiring work. Learn more at the Urban Health Program website.

http://www.macjannetprize.org/
http://talloiresnetwork.blogspot.com
EdNews – Daily Times – Reuters

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... tizenship/

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MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to Be Presented at Award Ceremony in Talloires, France | Campus Compact
Posted: 04 Jun 2009 07:16 AM PDT


MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation will present the first annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship at an award ceremony on June 6 at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. The Prize winners were announced on April 16 after a Selection Committee of leaders in higher education civic engagement reviewed the 67 applications.
First prize is being awarded to the Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University in Pakistan.
….
The Talloires Network will be flying two representatives from each of the first and second place winners to receive their awards in person at the award ceremony in Talloires. The Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University will be represented by Dr. Muhammad Yousuf, Principal Coordinator of the UHP, and Maliha Naseer, a Community Medicine Resident in the UHP.
via MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to Be Presented at Award Ceremony in Talloires, France | Campus Compact.

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MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to Be Presented at Award Ceremony in Talloires, France | Campus Compact
June 4, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Europe, Pakistan.
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MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. – The Talloires Network and the MacJannet Foundation will present the first annual MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship at an award ceremony on June 6 at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France. The Prize winners were announced on April 16 after a Selection Committee of leaders in higher education civic engagement reviewed the 67 applications.

First prize is being awarded to the Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University in Pakistan.

….

The Talloires Network will be flying two representatives from each of the first and second place winners to receive their awards in person at the award ceremony in Talloires. The Urban Health Program at Aga Khan University will be represented by Dr. Muhammad Yousuf, Principal Coordinator of the UHP, and Maliha Naseer, a Community Medicine Resident in the UHP.

via MacJannet Prize for Global Citizenship to Be Presented at Award Ceremony in Talloires, France | Campus Compact.

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... s-compact/
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Aga Khan University, University of Alberta expand partnership


Aga Khan University president Firoz Rasul and U of A president Indira Samarasekera sign the MOU, while His Highness the Aga Khan and Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach look on.

http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/article.cfm?id=10240

June 9, 2009 - Edmonton--The University of Alberta and the Aga Khan University today signed a memorandum of understanding that advances their respective goals to increase global engagement and to promote equitable human advancement and social justice throughout the world.

The agreement was signed at Government House by University of Alberta President Indira Samarasekera and Aga Khan University President Firoz Rasul in the presence of Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach, and His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, and founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network.

"The expansion of this partnership puts the University of Alberta on the forefront of international capacity building," said Stelmach at the signing ceremony. "AKDN's extensive reputation in economic, social and cultural development allows the university to harness Alberta's research and teaching innovation to benefit communities not only in Alberta, but also in East Africa, and Central and South Asia."

The agreement expands on an existing relationship between the two universities and includes two additional agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network: the University of Central Asia and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

"The University of Alberta, along with the Aga Khan Development Network, is deeply committed to providing globally engaged higher education and research," said Samarasekera. "Through our partnership, the university will move much closer to fulfilling one of our most important goals-to reach out to the developing world in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia, and engage in meaningful and effective dialogue and exchange."

Areas identified for immediate collaboration include health sciences education, humanities development and library planning, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use programs with particular emphasis on mountain environments and semi-arid regions with the University of Central Asia.

"This partnership will enable the University of Alberta's expertise to impact parts of the world that would not otherwise benefit from these capabilities," stated Rasul. "Their innovative approach to research, teaching and service in healthcare, education, and sustainable economic and environmental development in northern Canadian communities could greatly benefit the developing countries in which AKU, UCA and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture currently work."

The deepened partnership will also facilitate the participation of the U of A in the development of the Undergraduate Medical Education Programme in East Africa and will build on previous successes to move beyond health care and the health sciences into areas that will benefit the larger AKDN vision.

The collaboration between the two universities builds on an initial agreement signed in June 2006 on academic and scientific cooperation together with Alberta Health Services. As a result of that agreement, faculty and staff from the AKU School of Nursing and the Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, have recently completed graduate programs and training at the U of A in areas such as interventional cardiology, breast conservation surgery and physiotherapy.

Over the past 25 years, the Aga Khan University has fostered partnerships with several universities in Canada and across the world including McMaster, the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, Harvard University and Oxford University. Based on common values and approaches to sustainable development, these partnerships have improved the quality of curriculum development and teaching standards at AKU and raised the profile of professions such as nursing and teaching in the developing world, giving students the impetus to enter these desperately needed careers. Students and faculty from partner institutions have further benefited through professional exchanges, joint research projects and teaching opportunities.

"Partnerships, such as this one, build capacity in the developing world where it is needed most, but more importantly, they build compassion and understanding across our interconnected world. By expanding this partnership to other AKDN agencies, we hope to spread the benefits further afield," said Rasul.
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Khyber Medical University seeks cooperation of AKU in health education June 11, 2009
Posted by ismailimail in Aga Khan University, Asia, Education, Pakistan.
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8 June 2009 Daily The Pak Banker

PESHAWAR: A team Comprising of faculty members of Khyber Medical University (KMU) & Principals of all Public Sector Medical & Dental Colleges of NWFP headed by Prof. Dr. Muhammad Hafizullah Vice Chancellor KMU visited the Aga Khan University (AKU) Karachi, where they were given presentations regarding undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula being offered in medical field. The team was also apprised of the mode of professional education, teaching, training and research work being carried out under AKU.

VC KMU, Prof. Dr. Hafizullah showed great interest in Problem Base Learning mode of the university at undergraduate level. The session lasted for two hours and both side discussed mutual interests in medical and health education. VC KMU while showing interest asked the AKU that being role model in the relevant field they would need their assistance in establishing Institute of Medical and Health Education in NWFP. The administration assured them of their cooperation.


Prof. Dr. Shad Muhammad, Director (Academic, Admission & Quality Assurance), Prof. Dr. Nargas Perveen, Principal Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Hamayun Shah, Principal, Ayub Medical College, Abbottabad, Prof. Dr. Qiamudin, Principal, Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Abdul Mateen, Principal, Gomal Medical College, D.I.Khan, Prof. Dr. Muhammad Jan, Principal, Saidu Medical College, Swat, Prof. Dr. Abid Jamil, Deputy Dean PGMI, HMC, Hayatabad, Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Zubair Khan, Principal Khyber Girls Medical College, Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Shafiqullah, Principal, Bannu Medical College, Bannu and Syed Muhammad Ashhad Halimi, Deputy Registrar (Meetings & Academics ) were among those visting the Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi under its five day program under which certain medical and health sciences universities of the country would be visited by the team.

The team, at AKU, was received by Prof. Dr. Farhat Abbasi, Dean Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME), Prof. Dr. Mumtaz Jamshid Associate Dean PGME, Prof. Dr. Rasheeda Ahmad, Dr. Saeeda and Dr. Anwar Saddiqi of AKU.

The team also visited different departments of the AKU including Learning Recourse Centre, Clinical skills Workshop and Nursing School.

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... education/
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NEW HEART PROCEDURE CARRIED OUT

Coastweek -- NEW HEART PROCEDURE. Dr. Neil Brass [centre],
an interventional cardiologist at the Royal Alexander Hospital
in Canada, performs the first balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty
procedure at the Catheterization Laboratory of the Aga Khan
University Hospital, Nairobi. He was assisted by Dr. Harun A.
Otieno [right], an interventional cardiologist at the Hospital
and Linet Okuku [left], a cardiac nurse. This heart procedure
is used to open a narrowed heart valve. The balloon-tipped
catheter is inserted through the skin in the groin and inflated
to stretch the valve open and relieve the valve obstruction.



AT THE AGA KHAN UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, NAIROBI

Coastweek -- Dr. Neil Brass, an interventional cardiologist at the Royal Alexander Hospital in Canada , carried out the first balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty procedure at the Catheterization Laboratory of the Aga Khan University Hospital , Nairobi .

He was assisted by Dr. Harun A. Otieno, an interventional cardiologist at the Hospital.

Dr. Harun Otieno, a Cardiologist, at the Aga Khan University Hospital , Nairobi , explained, “There are four valves in the heart.

“These are aortic, pulmonary, mitral and tricuspid.

“The valves open and close to regulate the blood flow from one chamber to the other and are vital to the efficient functioning of the heart.”

"Pulmonic Stenosis is a heart condition that causes reduced opening of the pulmonary valve leading to increased pressure build up in the heart.

“Over years this causes the heart muscle to work harder, but may eventually fail.

“This condition is normally detected and treated in childhood by stretching open the tight pulmonic valve by a balloon or sometimes open heart surgery is done if very severe. Adults presenting with this condition is not very common."

“The balloon pulmonary valvuloplasty treatment is a minimal invasive procedure used to open the narrowed pulmonary valves and improve blood flow.

“A thin tube (catheter) with a small deflated balloon at its tip is inserted through the patient’s skin in the groin area into a blood vessel. This is threaded up to the narrowed heart valve.

“The balloon is inflated to stretch the valve open and relieve the obstruction.”

“The procedure is carried out at our state of the art Catheterisation Laboratory which has x-ray monitors.

“These allow visualization of the catheter in the blood vessels.

“Once the narrowed valve has been widened, the balloon-tipped catheter is removed.”

Dr. Harun Otieno added, “The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi has also become the first hospital in the region to provide a Radial Access Approach for cardiac catheterization.

“This technique is used to widen the blocked coronary artery of the heart through the hand as opposed to femoral (thigh).

“A catheter with a small balloon on the end is inflated to stretch the artery open and to allow blood to flow easily to feed the heart muscle.”

The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi cardiologists are working in partnership with the Canadian cardiac doctors from the Royal Alexandra Hospital and University of Alberta to develop the first regional radial arterial access laboratory in Kenya.

This will provide state of the art care for patients with cardiac illnesses.

By the second quarter of 2010 a second cardiac catheterization laboratory and comprehensive cardiac surgery operating theater and intensive care unit will be housed in a 40 million dollar heart and cancer centre which is under construction at the Aga Khan University Hospital , Nairobi .

This Aga Khan University , Nairobi heart and cancer centre will be the only one of its kind in East and Central Sub-Saharan Africa and will serve as the regional referral heart and cancer centre.

In addition to providing high quality tertiary cardiac and cancer care, the centre will be a platform for scientific research and postgraduate sub speciality fellowship training.

http://www.coastweek.com/3225-06.htm
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2nd National Road Safety Conference on 7th

KARACHI: Indus Motor Company (IMC) and Shell Pakistan in partnership with The Aga Khan University Hospital, Sindh Education Foundation and the Road Traffic injury Research Center (Ministry of Health) are organizing the 2nd National Road Safety Conference (NSRC) on July 7, 2009 at the Aga Khan University Auditorium, Karachi. Participants at the conference will comprise of government and regulatory body dignitaries and stakeholders from the corporate, education, health, road traffic systems and the engineering sectors. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 009_pg5_12
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AKU Receives Environmental Award

NFEH organising 6th annual environment awards
Upadated on: 09 Jul 09 02:02 AM


Staff Report

KARACHI: The National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) is organising the Sixth Annual Environment Excellence Awards 2009 on Thursday at the Sheraton Hotel in Karachi. The event would also include a corporate dialogue on ‘environment management’.

The event is being held in collaboration with United Nations Environment Programme. Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi would be the chief guest on the occasion, and Sindh Minister for Environment and Alternative Energy Askari Taqvi would be the guest of honour.

Karachi Nazim Mustafa Kamal, FPCCI Standing Committee for Environment Chairman Gulzar Feroz, NFEH Chairman Kaiser Waheed Shaikh, environment expert Dr Samiuz Zaman, NFEH Adviser Zaheer Baig, IUCN Vice-President Javed Jabbar, Sybird Group Chief Operating Officer Ted Mir, Environmental Protection Agency Director Technical Sindh Naim Mughal, Hamdard University Vice Chancellor Dr Nasim Ahmed and others would speak on the occasion.

The 6th Annual Environment Excellence Awards would be awarded to 49 best environment friendly companies of Pakistan. The awards have been instituted to recognise and promote the organisations, which make an outstanding contribution to sustainable development. They aim to highlight policies, practices, processes and products from all sectors of business in the country, which help achieve economic and social development without harming the environment and natural resources.

The jury has finalised the following companies for the awards: Aga Khan University, AES Lal Pir , Allied Industries Hub Ltd, Attock Refinery, Akbar Associates group, BHP Petroleum Pakistan , Clariant Pakistan, Crescent Bahuman, Dadex Eternit Ltd, Dalda foods, Descon Engineering, Dawood Hercules Chemicals, Engro Chemicals Pakistan, English Biscuit Manufacture, Engro Zarkhez Chemical Pakistan, Engro Polymer and Chemical, Glaxo Smith Kline Pakistan, Gerry's Dnata, Habib Oil Mills, Highnoon Laboratories Ltd, ICI Pakistan, International Industries, JS Private Equity, Kot Addu Power Company, KESC, KSB Pumps Company, Mobilink (PMCL) Pakistan, National Refinery, Oil and Gas Development Company, Packages, Pakistan Petroleum Ltd, Pakistan Refinery Ltd, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan Oil Fields, Pakistan State Oil, Pak Elektron Ltd, Pak Arab Refinery Ltd, Pepsi Cola International, Philips Pakistan, Qarshi Industries Pvt Ltd, Rafhan Maize Products Ltd, Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd, Siemens Pakistan Engineering Co Ltd, Shell Pakistan, Siddiq Leather Works, Tourism Promotion Services Pakistan Ltd, United Marine Agencies, World Wide Energy Logistics, and Waste Management Company.

Karachi Nazim Mustafa Kamal would receive the award of the ‘Best Nazim of Pakistan’ in recognition of his outstanding services for betterment of the city. Three environmental journalists would also be awarded. SAMAA

http://www.samaa.tv/News10304-NFEH_orga ... wards.aspx
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Public-private partnerships must to wipe out illiteracy
Published: July 07, 2009

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KARACHI - Minister of State for Education, Ghulam Farid Khatiya, has said that the 21st century is the century of partnerships and both public and private sectors should join hands to reduce illiteracy. Public sector alone
was not responsible for improving the literacy rate in Pakistan which at 48 per cent was one of the lowest of developing countries in the region; instead it is a joint responsibility of all stakeholders including the private
sector.

The Minister made these remarks at the inaugural ceremony of the 10th National Summer Camp for Talented HSSC Boys, with 150 students from 26 education boards across Pakistan, hosted by the Aga Khan University
Examination Board (AKU-EB). Explaining the government’s plans to reform the education sector, he talked about the ministry’s efforts to make the education system more demanded and market oriented, to meet the needs of the time. He said, “The existing scheme of studies for classes I to XII has been revised according to emerging trends,
global changes and job market requirements.
The new scheme will give importance to the sciences along with Islamic studies. It will also include issues related to cultural sensitivity, health, environment and population education, and peace and human rights.
” The minister encouraged students to continue to achieve excellent results and “to earn a good name for the nation.

More...

http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news- ... literacy/1
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Suicide; Researchers at Aga Khan University release new data on suicide

15 July 2009 Biotech Week

2009 JUL 15 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to recent research from Karachi, Pakistan, "Suicide is an understudied subject in Pakistan. There are many social, legal, and religious sanctions against it."

"National rates of suicides are not known. We calculated suicide rates of women in the Ghizer District of the remote Northern Areas of Pakistan. During years 2000 to 2004, 49 women committed suicide. Taking average mean population for women for 5 years as 65,783, we calculated annual crude suicide rates for women as 14.89/100,000/year. For women over the age of 15 years, rates were 33.22/100,000/year; age-specific rates for 15-24 years were 61.07/100,000 per year. These figures are considerably higher than suicide rates in other parts of Pakistan and may be related to high psychiatric morbidity in Pakistani women. This study underscores the need for a standardized system of registration of suicides in Pakistan," wrote M.M. Khan and colleagues, Aga Khan University.

The researchers concluded: "There is also urgent need to address high psychological distress in women in Pakistan."

Khan and colleagues published their study in Suicide and Life - Threatening Behavior (Female Suicide Rates in Ghizer, Pakistan. Suicide and Life - Threatening Behavior, 2009;39(2):227-230).

For additional information, contact M.M. Khan, Aga Khan University, Dept. of Psychiatry, Stadium Rd., POB 3500, Karachi 74800, Pakistan.

Publisher contact information for the journal Suicide and Life - Threatening Behavior is: Guilford Publications Inc., 72 Spring Street, New York, NY 10012, USA.

This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com.


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Helicobacter pylori; New helicobacter pylori study findings reported from Aga Khan University

22 July 2009 Biotech Week

2009 JUL 22 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to recent research from Karachi, Pakistan, "The aim of the study was to assess the knowledge and practices of primary care physicians in diagnosis and management of Helicobacter pylori ( H. pylori) infection in developing country. This convenient sample based, cross sectional study was conducted in primary care physicians of Karachi, Pakistan from March 2008 to August 2008 through a pretested self-designed questionnaire, which contained 11 items pertaining to H. pylori route of transmission, diagnosis, indication for testing, treatment options, follow up and source of information."

"Out of 509 primary care physicians, 451 consented to participate with the response rate of 88.6%. Responses of 426 primary care physicians were analyzed after excluding 19 physicians. 78% of the physicians thought that contaminated water was the source of spread of infection, dyspepsia was the most frequent indication for investigating H. pylori infection (67% of the physicians), while 43% physicians were of the view that serology was the most appropriate test to diagnose active H. pylori infection. 77% of physicians thought that gastric ulcer was the most compelling indication for treatment, 61% physicians preferred Clarithromycin based triple therapy for 7-14 days. 57% of the physicians would confirm H. pylori eradication after treatment in selected patients and 47% physicians preferred serological testing for follow-up. In case of treatment failure, only 36% of the physicians were in favor of gastroenterologist referral. The primary care physicians in this study lacked in
knowledge regarding management of H. pylori infection. Internationally published guidelines and World gastroenterology organization (WGO) practice guideline on H. pylori for developing countries have little impact on current practices of primary care physicians," wrote S. Ahmed and colleagues, Aga Khan University.

The researchers concluded: "We recommend more teaching programs, continuous medical education activities regarding H. pylori infection."

Ahmed and colleagues published their study in BMC Gastroenterology (Helicobacter pylori infection: approach of primary care physicians in a developing country. BMC Gastroenterology, 2009;9():23).

For additional information, contact S. Ahmed, Aga Khan University Hospital, Dept. of Medical, Gastroenterology Sect, Karachi, Pakistan.

Publisher contact information for the journal BMC Gastroenterology is: Biomedical Central Ltd., Current Science Group, Middlesex House, 34-42 Cleveland St., London W1T 4LB, England.

This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2009, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com.


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Pakistan: AKU offers leadership course for healthcare providers
Staff Reporter 26 July 2009 Daily The Pak Banker

KARACHI: Educational Development Department, Aga Khan University will hold an Advanced Level Course on Leadership for the faculty at leadership positions in Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Allied Health in October this year.

The 12 day extensive course on Leadership and Programme Evaluation in Health Professions Education (HPE) would focus on various programme evaluation models and their appropriate use, development of a plan for improvement or change, and leadership initiatives for such a change. Emphasis is on relating principles of educational management to the practice in participant's own institution and helping them to reflect in order to become a more effective leader and manager, said the organizers.

Salient Features of the course were mentioned to be rich inter-professional interaction with faculty having diverse educational background and expertise.

Educational Philosophies and Strategies related to Educational Leadership, Management and Evaluation and their application with emphasis on individual and institutional needs was also cited to be an important aspect followed by Continuing Education (CE) 7 credits.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/IsmailiM ... ZK39mNTLc/
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Diabetes and Ramadan

August 08, 2009

Aga Khan University Hospital invites you to a health awareness seminar on Diabetes and Ramadan on Saturday, August 8, 2009.

Time and Venue
4:00 - 6:00 pm
Lecture Hall 1, AKU Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan

Programme

Topics
Speakers

Management of Diabetes in Ramadan
Dr Qamar Masood
Consultant Endocrinologist and Diabetologist

Importance of Self Blood Glucose Monitoring and Diabetes Care during Roza
Ms Saira Suleman Hudani
Diabetes Nurse Educator

Dietary Modification during Ramadan
Ms Faiza Shoaib
Clinical Nutritionist


Lectures will be followed by a panel discussion and question & answer session.

Admission is free.

Free blood sugar testing and patient education material is available for limited number of participants.

For more details, please contact:
Tel: +92 21 3493 0051 Ext. 5755 / 5792
http://www.aku.edu/events/Diabetes_Rama ... 8_09.shtml
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World Bank Grant Competition Awards to Grassroots Initiatives to Address Undernutrition in South Asia
Posted: 07 Aug 2009 11:31 AM PDT


Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan and Aga Khan Health Services, India among the winners.
Dhaka, August 5, 2009 ─ Twenty-one civil society organizations from across South Asia won grants today from an $840,000 award pool funded by the South Asia Region Development Marketplace (DM). The winners received up to $40,000 each to implement innovative ideas on how to improve nutrition in their respective countries.

http://web.worldbank.org

http://ismailimail.wordpress.com/2009/0 ... outh-asia/

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Fundraising through greeting cards

KARACHI: The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has once again come up with a series of greeting cards that aim at generating funds for the needy patients visiting the hospital.

For the greeting card campaign, the paintings, which were selected to be printed on the cards, include “Landmarks of Pakistan” by Aftab Zafar, “Karachi Harbour” by Abdul Hayee and “Composition of Pakistani Architecture” by Jimmy Engineer. Apart from these famous painters, talented students, teachers, special children and art galleries have altogether donated about 40 marvelous painting for Eid greeting cards.

Funds raised through the greeting cards campaign allow the AKUH to financially support needy patients in getting quality healthcare facilities. The hospital also has a patient welfare program through which the hospital provides financial assistance to poor patients. AKUH initiated the program in 1986 and official record reveals that the hospital has financially assisted 0.35 million patients with an assistance of over Rs 2 billion through the Patient Welfare Programme. The hospital record reveals that more than 70 per cent of the 500,000 patients who visit AKUH receive financial assistance through the Patient Welfare Programme and the Patients’ Behbud Society. staff report

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.as ... 009_pg12_9
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