Partnership Profile

The Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, Pakistan, Pakistan’s first private university, is a component of the Aga Khan Development Network, whose mission is to train health personnel appropriate to the needs of Pakistan and the developing world. AKU is also part of  UAB-South Asia International Training and Research in Environmental and Occupational Health (ITREOH), a collaborative research program. Founded with an international charter in 1983, AKU strives for high standards and relevance in all its programs with the purpose of developing individual leaders. AKU provides opportunities in the fields of health care and education, with approximately 1,500 full-time students currently enrolled. The organization employs 3,700 individuals, of whom 350 are full time AKU faculty. A center for advanced nursing studies was launched in Nairobi in 2001, an Institute for Islamic Civilizations has been located in the UK, while a College of Arts and Science is being planned for Karachi. Currently, the University comprises a Faculty of Health Sciences, an Institute for Educational Development (IED) and a teaching hospital, Aga Khan University Hospital. The Faculty of Health Sciences comprises the School of Nursing and the Medical College, of which Community Health Sciences (CHS) constitutes the largest department.

A recent 5-year review of AKU publications indicated that the institution accounts for 58% of all health science research output from Pakistan in indexed journals. AKU has a strong commitment to advance the status and professional opportunities for women, and seeks similar collaborations to strengthen female-oriented professions. Furthermore, AKU faculty participates in international collaborations and consultations, extending their expertise into south-south collaborations. Through ongoing partnerships with prestigious overseas institutions, AKU brings international expertise to bear upon the establishment and enhancement of its current and future programs and services.

The Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) at Aga Khan University fulfills the AKU mission through population-oriented education, research and service activities. Through these activities, the University has developed expertise in building cooperative linkages with communities and with government and nongovernmental agencies. CHS’s divisions reflect broadly based disciplines, emphasizing major community health sciences (epidemiology, biostatistics and health systems) and important applications (family medicine and public health practice). All have formally developed objectives and well-qualified leadership.

Environmental and Occupational Health (EOH) is currently located as an activity area within the CHS Division of Public Health Practice and is considered an area for ongoing internal development. AKU currently has three MSc (Master of Science) degree programs, each of two years’ duration and requiring a thesis. One of these is the MSc in epidemiology and biostatistics, MSc in health policy and management and MSc in clinical research for clinicians. Currently, EOH is incorporated in a two-credit course on principles and practices of public health (required for both MSc programs), while injury epidemiology is addressed as a special module within another two-credit course on special topics in epidemiology (MSc epidemiology & biostatistics students only). The UAB-South Asia ITREOH Program is working with CHS faculty to create an EOH certificate program to be offered in 2010, so as to enable those wishing to develop their thesis work in EOH-related applications to do so with the advantage of more in-depth preparation in this area.

Examples of trainee-led pilot research projects in Pakistan include:

Pakistan - Aga Khan University:
Association of Acute Coronary Syndrome with Indoor Air Pollution due to bio-mass use among women of rural Sindh, Pakistan
Prevalence of chronic respiratory illnesses and symptoms among cotton textile workers of Karachi, Pakistan