Community-based education and research; from evidence to impact in public health.

 Community-based education and research; from evidence to impact in public health.

The Aga Khan University held a conference titled "From Evidence to Impact in Public Health" to highlight the significance of the department of community health sciences' efforts in the areas of instruction, research, and outreach. In the areas they serve, these projects have a direct impact on public policy, quality of life, and health outcomes.

The educational programmes offered by CHS are created to prepare the next generation of public health leaders, including junior researchers and community health workers who are essential to our healthcare system. The department's research aims to explore pertinent problems, create fresh answers, and evaluate interventions, such lowering maternal mortality.

Some noteworthy contributions were made in 2018 to the Asthana Declaration on Primary Health Care, which had an impact on the reimagined Primary Healthcare (PHC) strategy. One of the practical results of this strategy at the national level has been the experience of building an Evidence-Informed Essential Health Package of Services, as well as the thorough evaluation of the Sehat Card programme in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The work on children's health has been incredibly helpful. Identifying the foetal, maternal, and placental causes of stillbirths and preterm deliveries, for instance, has been made possible by testing advancements in minimally invasive tissue collecting procedures. Dr. Sarah Saleem, professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences, has worked with international partners like Columbia University and Research Triangle Institute North Carolina to create a Maternal and Newborn Health Registry and to harness the power of high-quality data to create locally relevant, practical solutions.

Dr. Zafar Fatmi's research focused on topics that are specific to the local communities, such as home energy and health, air quality, eco-revival of the Ravi River, and arsenic contamination of the Indus River, to name a few, and how these occurrences are inextricably tied to human health. Dr. Shehla Zaidi, Professor of Health Policy & Systems at AKU-CHS, focused on integrating Pakistan's private health sector for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), sharing her vast portfolio of research-based knowledge from implementation pilots with the government, public-private partnership assessment studies, and formative work on private provider preferences and engagement modalities with the government to align with the country's Good Health and Well-bei.

Experts from across AKU took part in the various panels and presentations, and many illustrious national and international guests, including Mr. Zafar Mirza, Former Federal Health Minister, Government of Pakistan, Dr. Awad Mataria, Director of Universal Healthcare (UHC),/Health Systems Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, WHO, Dr. Paul Erwin, Dean of the School of Public Health (SPH), University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Dr. Zainab Samad, Chair of M.

During his panel on improving public health, Dr. Mataria stated, "Our partnerships with organisations like AKU enable us to bridge the gap between academia and policy-making."

Dr. Azra Pechuho, the respected Sindh Minister for Health, attended the occasion as the chief guest. Through symbiotic partnerships with governmental organisations at all levels—local, provincial, and federal—AKU works closely to enhance the availability and calibre of our healthcare systems. Dr. Pechuho expressed his appreciation for AKU's relationship and the trust that existed between the two organisations. He expressed a desire to create deeper alliances in the area of preventive healthcare, particularly with regard to adolescent girls' health, nutrition, maternal health, family planning, telemedicine, and women's skill development. ​​