These 8 Pakistani women have been celebrated among the world’s top 100 outstanding women nurses and midwives

Eight Pakistani women have been selected among the world’s top 100 outstanding women nurses and midwives out of 43 countries all over the globe according to Agha Khan University (AKU). Five of them are faculty members of AKU and the other 3 are alumni. These outstanding leaders have been acknowledged by Women in Global Health (WGH), which collaborated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organizations. All of the eight women hail from the AKU’s School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM).

The campaign, “Year of the Nurse and the Midwife (YONM)”, was run by WHO in 2020 for the recognition of the vital role that nurses and midwives provide in healthcare.

Dr. Rozina Karmaliani, dean of SONAM, was honored under the “board and management” category for her efforts to bring improvements in adolescent health, strengthen research capacities, and integrate research into education and practice. She said, “It is an honour to be acknowledged by the international public health and nursing fraternity. This year has been particularly challenging for healthcare providers, all of whom have showed incredible commitment in their respective roles in responding to the COVID-19 crisis.”

Faculty members Yasmin Parpio and Samina Vertejee were appreciated under the “Community Hero” category for their services in community health nursing. Saima Sachwani was recognized for her contributions in developing an impactful nursing curriculum under the “Human Capital Development category”. Marina Baig, a nurse-midwife, was recognized for using mobile technology to improve maternal health outcomes.

Alumni of AKU recognized for their services include; Dr. Shela Hirani, for her efforts to promote, protect and support breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic, Neelam Punjani for her work in improving access to sexual and reproductive health rights and Sadaf Saleem for her contributions to geriatric nursing.

Image Source: AKU