Pakistan Education News Network » Aga Khan University

Umbilical cord antiseptic care can save newborns’ lives by the Aga Khan University (AKU) Division of Women and Child Health

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 02:41:11 +0000

KARACHI – Cleansing a newborn’s umbilical cord with an antiseptic can reduce the risk of infection and death, revealed a study carried out by the Aga Khan University (AKU)’s Division of Women and Child Health. The research, just published in the leading global medical journal The Lancet, was conducted in 1,300 villages of Dadu district. With 53 deaths per 10,000 live births, Pakistan has one of the highest newborn mortality rates in the world and up to a third are because of infections. Infection risk is greatest in countries where most deliveries take place at home, often attended by unskilled traditional birth attendants (dais) with poor delivery practices.
Unsafe conventions, such as cutting the birth cord with unsterilised instruments, and the application of substances such as ash, surma (lead-based concoctions), oil and even cow dung are practised in many rural areas of Pakistan, and often associated with an increased risk of cord infection and death. Enrolling around 10,000 newborns between January 2008 and June 2009, the study looked at the effectiveness of three interventions. One consisted of birth kits containing 4 per centchlorhexidine (CHX), to be applied to the cord at birth by dais and once daily by family members for up to 14 days, along with soap and educational messages promoting hand washing, the second was CHX alone and the third, hand washing only.
The fourth group was advised to practice standard dry cord care recommended by the World Health Organisation. The study showed that cord cleansing with CHX reduced the risk of infection in children by 42 per cent and deaths by 38 per cent. Hand washing promotion alone appeared to have no effect on infection or mortality risk. “Given the large number of newborn deaths that occur due to severe infection in home settings, our study not only provides the evidence that a simple low-cost solution like chlorhexidine can save lives, but also shows that a delivery strategy through packaging in birth kits works,” said Dr Professor Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, head of the Division of Women and Child Health at the AKU, and principal investigator of the study. “It could be used to scale up coverage of these interventions at birth in both community settings and public sector facilities. These findings also have substantial implications for public health in south Asia, where many areas share similar cultural, social, and economic characteristics.” The researchers propose that this intervention be considered for possible inclusion in the range of interventions available to Leady Health Workers of the National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Care of the Pakistani government.
The trial was carried out in Dadu, a resource-poor rural district in Sindh, with a population of about 1 million, and an infant mortality rate of 90 per 1,000 live births. More than 80 percent deliveries in the district are done at home by dais and almost 90 per cent of households followed the traditional practices of applying surma and other substances on the cord. The study was funded by the Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns, and John Snow Inc via a grant by the US Agency for International Development. the news

AKU study: Using antiseptic to clean the umbilical cord saves lives

KARACHI: Cleansing a newborn’s umbilical cord with an antiseptic can reduce the risk of infection and death, according to a study by Aga Khan University’s Division of Women and Child Health (DWCH).

The research, published in the medical journal The Lancet, was conducted in 1,300 villages in Dadu district.

With 53 deaths per 10,000 live births, Pakistan has one of the highest newborn mortality rates in the world, with almost a third of them due to infections. Infection risk to the infant is greatest in countries where most deliveries are completed by unskilled attendants at the woman’s home. Unsafe practices like cutting the birth cord with unsterilised materials, and the application of substances such as ash, surma (lead-based concoction), oil and even cow dung are common in many rural areas of Pakistan.

The study followed nearly 10,000 newborns between January 2008 and June 2009, and looked at the effectiveness of three different strategies. The first consisted of using birth kits that contained four per cent chlorhexidine (CHX), which were applied to the cord at birth and then once daily for the next 14 days, along with encouraging the family to regularly wash the infant’s hands with soap.

The second involved the use of CHX alone, while the third involved encouraging hand washing only. The fourth group was advised to practice the standard dry cord care procedures recommended by the World Health Organisation.

The study showed that cord cleansing with CHX reduced the risk of infection in children by 42 per cent and deaths by 38 per cent. The hand washing promotion by itself appeared to have no effect on infection or mortality risk.

“Given the large number of newborn deaths that occur due to severe infection in home settings, our study not only provides evidence that a simple low-cost solution like chlorhexidine can save lives, but also shows that a delivery strategy through packaging birth kits works,” said Prof Dr Zulfiqar A Bhutta, the head of the DWCH and principal investigator of the study.

“It could be used to scale up coverage of these interventions at birth in both community settings and public sector facilities. These findings also have substantial implications for public health in South Asia, where many areas share similar cultural, social, and economic characteristics.”

Researchers propose that this intervention be considered for possible inclusion in range of interventions available to lady health workers of the National Programme for Family Planning and Primary Care.

Dadu has a population of about one million, and an infant mortality rate of 90 per 1,000 live births. The study was funded by Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns, and John Snow Inc. via a grant by the US Agency for International Development.

Published in The Express Tribune,

MDGs’ plan as good as shelved in Sindh The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2011,

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:15:17 +0000

KARACHI – The National Nutrition Survey (NNS) 2011, which was released this week, has revealed that the government has failed to make any progress towards achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, for which it had signed the Millennium Declaration in 2001. With only three years left, the NNS 2011 disclosed that achieving these MGDs, especially in Sindh, has now become impossible.
The NNS 2011 is jointly prepared by UNICEF and the Aga Khan University. According to the survey, 72 percent of the total population in Sindh is facing food insecurity or in simple words they do not have sufficient food as per the standards. The majority of these people comprise women, expectant mothers or children. The MGDs were set to bring make their lives better. But apparently, the Pakistani government only made commitments with the international community by signing the Millennium Declaration, but practically did nothing at the grassroots level.
The eight goals Pakistan adopted were: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, promote gender equality and women empowerment, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases and ensure environment sustainability and develop a global partnership for development. The MDGs were adopted by the international community as a framework for the development activities of over 190 countries in 10 regions. They have been articulated into over 20 targets and over 60 indicators.
Pakistan, being a signatory to Millennium Declaration, is bound to achieve the eight important MDGs, but several reports by international donor agencies reveal that Pakistan lags behind other South Asian countries. The NNS 2011 disclosed shocking figures, especially for Sindh. Despite the fact that it is an agricultural province, it is the poorest and the most food-deprived province of the country. Due to floods in 2010 and 2011, poverty has reached an extreme level in the province and all the indicators of international institutions have hit a dangerous level.
The NNS 2011 survey also revealed that little has changed in the province over the last decade in terms of core maternal and childhood nutrition indicators. The indicators of basic healthcare are worse than average. A large number of people in Sindh are without access to fresh drinking water while children under five years of age are suffering from abdominal diseases and diarrhoea because of consuming contaminated water.

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Aga Khan University Medical College AKU announces admissions in Mbioeth

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 05:15:10 +0000

Admission information, programme details available at AKU’s website

KARACHI The Aga Khan University Medical College (AKU-MC) has invited applications for a two-year master’s programme in Bioethics. The first year of this programme is mainly course work at the university’s Stadium Road campus in Karachi.

Professionals, including physicians, nurses, researchers, pharmacists, hospital administrators, health ministry officials and policy makers, lawyers, medical journalists, social scientists, philosophers and others, who have completed at least 16 years of education and possess a desire for an in-depth knowledge of bioethics, are invited to apply.

Students meeting the above mentioned eligibility criteria from resource-poor countries covered by World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) are encouraged to apply.

Educational expenses for selected candidates, including tuition fee and course material, would be covered through a training grant from the Fogarty International Centre (FIC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA. Candidates selected from outside Karachi would also receive a one-time return air/train/bus ticket reimbursement and a monthly stipend.

The Master of Bioethics (MBioeth) programme educates and trains individuals in the philosophical underpinnings of ethical discourses from Muslim and Western approaches, including moral philosophies, to identifying and analysing ethical dilemmas in research involving human participants and encountered in clinical practice, in the second year, students are required to develop a research proposal.

Students will establish and be a resource for research ethics and clinical ethics review committees in their own institutions; develop a bioethics curriculum and teach bioethics at undergraduate and graduate level; analyse health-related policies in line with an ethics framework; study clinical and research settings from a human rights perspective; and will conduct research in bioethics.

Closing date for applications is Dec 8, 2011. Admission information and programme details, along with an application form, are available at: www.aku.edu/mcpk/bioethics. ppi

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sindh primary school teachers time waste classroom session study

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 02:07:36 +0000

Sindh teachers waste 20 mins of each classroom session study

KARACHI Seventy percent of primary school teachers across Sindh teach their classes for merely 15 of the 35 minutes assigned to each subject daily. Only 20 percent teach for more than 20 minutes while the remaining 10 percent offer even less than five minutes of teaching time in their classrooms.

These were the statistics of a baseline study piloted by the Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) under the Strengthening Teacher Education in Pakistan (STEP) project at a seminar attended by educationists, executive district officers and other government officials.

Additional Secretary, Education and Literacy Department Muhammad Shariq was the chief guest on the occasion.

The study covered 196 schools and over 6,000 students from classes IV and V across several districts of Sindh. It gathered information on student populations and prevailing teaching, learning and management practices in these schools, as well as data on student learning achievements in four core subject areas i.e. mathematics, science, English and social studies.

Unsurprisingly, students were shown to be performing poorly with just 17 percent obtaining pass marks in tests. Girls performed relatively better in all subject areas as compared to boys even though they were not encouraged or provided equal opportunity to participate in classroom.

Only 56 percent of the enrolled students attended classes regularly, with the remainder either attending school intermittently or remaining absent. While it is well known that head teachers play a very important role in improving the quality of education in schools, the survey results indicated that their current levels of leadership and management skills were either unsatisfactory or very basic at best. This suggests that head teachers need more support from local school education managers to take on a school management role.

“We are all concerned about the many children who are ‘out of school’, but we seem to be the least concerned about girls and boys who are ‘out of education’ despite being in school,” said Dr Takbir Ali, STEP project coordinator while addressing the participants.

Analysis of the survey data has yielded a number of important findings, which have significant policy implications on how to improve the quality of education.

The study has recommended enhancing teachers’ morale, involving the community at various levels and improving head teachers’ capacity to perform. It has also recommended establishing a province-based examination regulatory authority for primary and elementary schools to ensure standardised exams and periodic testing, focusing on quality across schools and districts.

“We are very pleased that the STEP project is addressing the needs of teacher education in selected districts of Sindh and later Balochistan which will help other districts learn from best practices,” said Dr Muhammad Memon, Director, AKU-IED. pr
((ref#dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2011\11\23\story_23-11-2011_pg7_17))

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317 graduates conferred degrees Convocation of Aga Khan University

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 07:44:11 +0000

As many as 317 graduates were conferred degrees at the 24th Convocation of the Aga Khan University (AKU) on Saturday.

Four students were awarded Doctor of Philosophy degrees, one in Education and three in Health Sciences. In addition to the four doctoral degrees, 313 other degrees were also conferred at the convocation.

The Institute for Educational Development (AKUH) awarded 40 degrees in Master of Education, 95 degrees in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, 10 degrees in Master of Science in the fields of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Policy and Management and Clinical Research, while 19 degrees were awarded in Master of Bioethics.

Chief guest on the occasion, Dr Suraya Dalil, acting Minister of Public Health, Afghanistan, highlighted how the AKU has enabled its students and alumni to soar to the academic heights, setting the highest standards of professional excellence, which are internationally recognised.

“Not only has the AKU pioneered in the delivery of healthcare and education, but it has also built a synergy that has mutually reinforced education and health,” she said.

Dr Dalil pointed out there were six Afghan graduates at the convocation: two with Master of Education degrees and four with Bachelor of Science degrees.

She lauded the efforts of the government for facilitating her visit to Pakistan to attend the AKU convocation and said that the successful collaboration between the Aga Khan University in Pakistan and the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan was a clear example of how the two countries and two nations could work together.

President AKU Firoz Rasul asked the passing graduates that they were ambassadors of the AKU and asked them to work with professional zeal. Highlighting the AKU’s commitment to nurturing the leaders of the future, Firoz Rasul emphasised the need of professional competence and capacity to solve the problems that the university had ingrained in each of the graduates.

“A shifting global order, like the one we are witnessing today offers tremendous opportunities for you, as individual graduates, and for this region of South and Central Asia. Your ability to reap the benefits from these opportunities lies firmly in your willingness to invest time and energy to participate in building civil society institutions, governance systems and social structures so that stability can take root,” he added.

The event was attended by a large number of dignitaries.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon session, 149 students belonging to the School of Nursing were conferred degrees; these included 10 Master of Science, 29 Bachelor of Science, 50 Post-RN Bachelor of Science and 60 Diploma in General Nursing.The news.

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Aga Khan University 24th convocation ceremony 12th November 2011

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:12:35 +0000

Karachi Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi will hold its 24th graduation ceremony on Saturday (tomorrow) to highlight achievements of students in diverse fields ranging from education to bioethics. Morning session will see award of degrees to graduates of medical college and institute for educational development. School of Nursing graduates will receive degrees in afternoon session. Afghanistan Acting Minister of Public Health Dr Suraya Dalil will honour ceremony as chief guest. ppi.

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HEC Higher Education Commission awards for 33 outstanding researchers

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 06:29:29 +0000

Islamabad many as 33 outstanding researchers have been conferred awards under various categories including lifetime academic achievement award, best innovator, best book publication, best research paper and best young research scholar.

The winners belonging to six different disciplines included Biological Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Basic and Applied Sciences, Management Sciences, Social Sciences, and Humanities, have been awarded with cash prizes in an auspicious ceremony organised by Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Federal Minister for Science and Technology Mir Changez Khan Jamali, on the occasion, has stressed the need for developing a strong research culture in the country. Congratulating the award winners, the minister underlined the significance of need-based research, which, he said, was vital for the socio-economic development of the country. He emphasised that education is the biggest solution to the problems of this country.

HEC Chairperson Dr. Javaid R. Laghari said that the purpose of these awards is to recognise and reward achievements of Pakistani researchers/scholars in research, innovation and publication in all areas of knowledge. He said that the university research is directly linked to the economic growth of any country and that has been proved by the developments taking place across the globe.

HEC Executive Director Dr. Sohail Naqvi said that these awards are conferred on those who have promoted research and innovation in the country. “Our researchers have proved that they are second to none in world-class research,” he added.

Each year, applications are invited from all over Pakistan for these awards. A transparent, competitive and acceptable mechanism has been adopted for selection of the scholars. After scrutiny, research work of applicants is evaluated by the judges who are nominated by the Research Awards Management Committee.

The awardees for ‘Life Time Achievement Award’ include Dr. Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani, Vice Chair/Professor, Agha Khan University, Karachi, and Dr. Bina Shaheen Siddiqui, Professor, University of Karachi. The awardees for ‘Best Innovator Award’ include Dr. Robina Farooq Associate Professor, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Abbottabad. The award for ‘Best Book Publication’ has been given away to Dr. Ghazala Nasim, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Nasim A Khan, Vice Chancellor, Hamdard University, Karachi, and Dr. Sikandar Hayat, Directing Staff (Research), National Management College, Lahore.

The award for the ‘Best Research Paper’ has been given away to Dr. Muhammad Saeed Akhtar, Principal Medical Officer, Punjab Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Faisalabad, Samina Anwar, Junior Scientist, National Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering, Faisalabad, Dr. Muhammad Ilyas, Research Associate, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Irfaq Khan, Senior Scientist, Nuclear Institute for Food and Agriculture, Peshawar, Dr. Asif Mir, International Islamic University (IIU), Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Ayub Kakar, Assistant Professor, University of the Balochistan, Quetta, Dr. Syed Tauseef Mohyud-Din, Professor, HITEC University, Taxila, Dr. Muhammad Atif, Senior Scientist, Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Applied Science, Islamabad, Dr. Ahmer Mehmood, Lecturer, IIU Islamabad, Dr. Asif Masood, Assistant Professor, Military College of Signals, Rawalpindi, Imdadullah Qureshi, HEC Research Fellow, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Ms. Maria Siddique, Scientific Officer, CIIT Abbottabad, Kashif Imran, Assistant Professor, CIIT Lahore, Dr. Khanji Harijan, Professor, Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro, Qarab Raza, Principal Engineer, SES Directorate, Industrial Area, Islamabad, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bhatti, Dean, University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Dr. Faheem Uddin, Professor, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, Dr. Muhammad Usman Awan, Assistant Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Nasir Mahmood, Associate Professor, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Dr. Muhammad Munir, Director, IIU Islamabad, Dr. Muhammad Arshad, Lecturer, University of the Punjab, Lahore.

Last but not the least, the award winners of the category ‘Best Young Research Scholar Award’ has been given away to Dr. Pashtoon Murtaza Kasi, Intern, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Dr. Hassan Imran Afridi, Lecturer, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Dr. Syed Muneer Hussain Shah, Lecturer, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Dr. Tassawar Hayat, Associate Professor, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Dr. Syed Ali Khayam, Assistant Professor, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad and Aijaz Ahmed Gujjar, Lecturer, Federal College of Education, Islamabad.The news.

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Dr Greg Moran appointed provost of AKU Aga Khan University

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 16:05:20 +0000

KARACHI Dr Greg Moran has been appointed as the new provost of Aga Khan University (AKU) and as the chief academic officer will play a key part in overseeing the quality of the entire university’s academic programmes. Dr Moran brings over two decades of experience as faculty, researcher and thesis supervisor.Daily Times.

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Aga Khan University (AKU) provided one million for healthcare

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 12:39:13 +0000

the daily times publish AKU provided healthcare to one million Karachi The Aga Khan University (AKU) medical teams provided healthcare facilities to one million flood victims in Sindh, Southern Punjab and Balochistan following last year’s devastating floods in Pakistan while it has also dispatched medical teams to provide medical aid to the flood victims of the current year.

AKU doctors and paramedics have been dispatched to Badin and Khairpur while an assessment is being carried out to ascertain the health needs of the people following devastating rains and then they would be provided healthcare facilities as per their health needs.

This was stated by Andrew Sisson, Mission Director, USAID Pakistan and Dr Iqtidar Khan, Chairman Flood and Relief Operations AKU at a briefing on Wednesday.

AKU responded to the national disaster by dispatching medical teams as soon as possible to Khairpur and Sukkur, followed by Jaffarabad, Balochistan. Soon after AKU sent out several teams of AKU volunteers, doctors and nurses, who provided urgent health services through camps, mobile units and government-run basic health units and hospitals. At the university, a range of departments supported the efforts, providing the people, medical supplies, food, transport and security. Eventually 16 districts across Sindh, southern Punjab and Balochistan were covered.

AKU’s Flood Response Programme has been generously supported through a US$ 6.2 million grant from the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as well as a contribution of a day’s salary by the faculty and staff. Besides volunteer university faculty and staff, over 300 full-time contractual staff has provided health care to the flood-affected in these districts. Over one million people have received life-saving health care from AKU as a result of the programme.

The flood-affected people received treatment for dehydration, diarrhoea, pneumonia, snake bites, skin infections and many other diseases associated with the floods. Nurses and doctors also provided antenatal care, assisted deliveries and administered vaccinations.

In addition to basic health care, the programme also includes a nutrition intervention component, treating malnourished and

under-nourished children with ready-to-use therapeutic food and micronutrients, and women of reproductive age with folic acid and iron supplementation. One of the biggest strengths of the AKU’s Programme has been the low cost of about US$ 3 per patient, enabling the university to treat more people.

“The Aga Khan University is a strong example of the numerous local organisations that have worked with the USAID to alleviate human suffering caused by the floods,” said USAID Mission Director Andrew Sisson at the ceremony.

“The United States is committed to supporting the Pakistani government and people in their efforts to address Pakistan’s priority issues.”

Over the past weeks, medical care has been provided to the communities in Sindh, Badin and Khairpur, most affected by this year’s floods – reaffirming AKU and USAID’s resolve to help those most affected.Daily Times.

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Change medical curriculum Khyber Medical University

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 13:36:38 +0000

Change in KMU medical curriculum on the cards
Peshawar: The Khyber Medical University (KMU) is working on a project to change the present medical curriculum and assessment system by introducing integration and semester system in medical colleges of the province.

Speaking as chief guest at a one-day symposium on ‘Curriculum Development’ organised by the Academic Section of the university at the Institute of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (IPM&R), KMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Hafizullah said currently the medical and dental institutions were following the annual system of examination in which the assessment is done at the end of the year.

He said most students start serious study near the end of the year and especially during the preparation leave. “To overcome this problem, most of the institutions other than medical have changed their system into semester system,” he said.

“Specific time is allotted to each course which is finished in time and there is continuous evaluation. This keeps both the faculty and students busy throughout the year,” he added.The VC said the KMU was committed to replacing the 20thcentury medical curriculum with that of the 21st century. The main feature of these reforms is adaptation of integration of the medical curriculum, he added.

Dr Hafizullah hoped that all the principals and faculties of the public and private medical colleges would support the proposed plan of KMU. Prof Dr Sultan Mehmood, principal, Khyber Medical College (KMC), informed the participants about the work done by him and his committee for introducing the semester system. Sheilla Pinjani of the Department of Medical Education, Aga Khan University, also spoke on the subject of integration of medical curriculum. The news

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Quaid-e-Azam University tops raking Higher Education Commission

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 12:49:26 +0000

QAU tops HEC rakings

QAU total of 548 research publications
Lahore, Mar 01: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Monday announced rankings of public and private universities across the country based on their research output.

The Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad, topped the list with a total of 548 research publications. Aga Khan University (AKU), Karachi, remained second with 416 publications while University of Karachi, Karachi, won the third position with 387 publications.

The Punjab University (PU) though at number four on the countrywide list topped the other varsities of the provincial metropolis by clinching the first position among the universities in Lahore with 352 research publications. Government College University (GCU), Lahore, stood at number two in Lahore and at number seven countrywide.

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English language teaching seminar Aga Khan University

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:59:57 +0000

AKU international seminar on English language teaching
Karachi: Aga Khan University (AKU) Centre of English Language is organising the 6th International Seminar on ‘English Language Teaching (ELT) in a Changing World: Innovative Approaches to New Challenges’ from Jan 29 to 30 at AKU Auditorium, Stadium Road campus. The seminar will bring together ELT professionals from around the world to discuss, reflect on and develop their ideas. Daily times