The Aga Khan University is a “National Asset” for Pakistan

Leaders of the Aga Khan University received a warm reception on Tuesday November 9th, 2021 in Holiday Inn Skokie as they shared the impact the University is having on health and education in Pakistan with members of the Pakistani diaspora and Consul General of Pakistan in Chicago Tariq Karim.

A crowd of approximately 75 listened intently to presentations by AKU Medical College Dean Adil Haider and Aga Khan University Hospitals CEO Dr. Shahid Shafi at the Holiday Inn. Both Dr. Haider and Dr. Shafi are graduates of AKU’s Medical College in Karachi who recently returned to the University to take up leadership positions following successful careers in the United States that included stints at leading institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, and the University of Pennsylvania.

“America is a place where hard work is rewarded, and where you can live your dreams,” Dr. Haider said. “I think the same can be said of the Aga Khan University. That’s what brought me back to AKU.”

Dr. Shafi called AKU a national asset for Pakistan, noting that it was recently ranked one of the world’s top 100 universities in public health. AKU operates four hospitals as well as 290 outreach clinics across Pakistan. Together, they serve 1.5 million patients in a typical year. Thanks to the University’s patient welfare programmed, which is supported by gifts from generous donors, even the poorest patients are able to receive care at AKU health facilities. In fact, one in 10 patients at the Aga Khan University Hospital earns less than $2 per day.

Students at AKU also benefit from the generosity of donors: 70 percent of AKU students receive financial assistance or pay no tuition in exchange for working at AKU after graduation at market salaries. To date, nearly 13,000 individuals – two-thirds of whom are women – have graduated from the University in Pakistan.

The majority of graduates are working and living in Pakistan, Dr. Shafi noted, and they are helping to improve the quality of health and education for the public. For example, 80 percent of nursing schools with recognized degree programs are led by alumni of the University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Both Dr. Shafi and Dr. Haider pointed to AKU’s leadership during the pandemic. The University has developed national guidelines for treating COVID-19 patients, trained thousands of doctors and nurses in government hospitals, and provided high-quality care, testing and vaccination for countless people. It has been a key adviser to top government officials, with AKU faculty members serving on numerous provincial and national health committees, including the National Institute of Health, the nation’s top public health body. Clinical trials at AKU helped demonstrate the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine that is now being widely distributed in Pakistan.

Research at AKU is addressing pressing challenges facing Pakistan, the doctors noted, including the quality of education in public schools, the number of women who die during childbirth and the number of children who die prior to the age of 5.

“Aga Khan University is not only improving people’s lives in Pakistan, but also burnishing the image of Pakistan abroad,” Dr. Shafi said. “People in the most renowned institutions in the U.S. respect its quality. When I came here after graduating, I felt my education had prepared me to compete with anybody.”

Consul General Tariq Karim praised Aga Khan University for its impact and urged it to continue to expand to reach more people in need.