If granted, HSA would be the first varsity in Pakistan to offer specialised public health courses. PHOTO: LOGO
A proposal to grant university status to the academy is currently awaiting approval from the prime minister, after which the bill would be presented before parliament for endorsement.
The Higher Education Commission has already given its nod for the move.
The status change was conceived to help produce public health experts, as the health sector has been facing a dearth of people with such qualifications.
Health officials believe the dearth of public health experts is a contributing factor in the broken healthcare system.
Health officials said that the country needs at least 3,000 to 4,000 public health managers --- 15 to 20 in every district.
The job of clinicians is to treat people, while public health experts, through informed policies and organised efforts, work to prevent disease and prolong life, explained HSA Executive Director Dr Assad Hafeez. In an ideal health system, measures are taken beforehand by public health experts to control and prevent outbreaks and diseases, he said, but here the situation is otherwise.
HSA was established in 1988 to provide short training courses to public health practitioners and professionals. Through its present affiliation with Quaid-i-Azam University, it is the only Pakistan body that offers doctorates in public health. It also offers a number of related masters-level programmes.
It will be the first higher learning institute to offer specialised degree courses in research, service, and policy advice in public health, said Dr Hafeez.
After getting the status of an autonomous university, we will expand our academic programmes and introduce more courses to meet present day needs, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2016.
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