Our Role

Ms. Nighat Saeed Khan

Secretary General

A Development Professional with special interest in Reproductive Health, particularly Family Planning, Safe Motherhood and Gender Issues. She has over 30 years’ experience of working on women’s issues. She holds Masters Degrees both in English and Economics. Ms. Khan serves as the National Coordinator / Management Advisor, National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH).

Dr.Faridoon Setna

Advisor

Dr. Faridoon Setna is a competent and experienced PMDC Verified Gynecologist. He has Done FRCOG, MBBS, MRCOG.

Ms. Imtiaz Kamal

Secretary General

Imtiaz Kamal is a Nurse-midwifery educator, teacher training specialist, public health scientist, researcher, author, family planning champion, founder of Midwifery Association of Pakistan and poet. She got her diploma in nursing midwifery and public health from UK and B.SC and Master’s Degrees from Columbia University USA. She is one of the 4 founders of Family Planning Association of Pakistan. She has been working for National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH) as its Secretary General in voluntary capacity for the last 25 years.

With 60 years of professional experience in 45+ countries with national and international organizations, she has worked with UNFPA, UNICEF, The World Bank and a few others, in various countries including Malawi, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sri Lanka & Iran. Taught in Boston University’s School of Public Health for 7 years. Served on the Hospital Committee of the Board of Trusties of the Aga Khan University for 12 years. Served on WHO’s MCH Committee and Safe Motherhood Initiative. Has conducted research, written many self-learning Guide books on Training, Family Planning and published articles. Has received many national and international rewards.

Ms. Nighat Jahan Huda

Co-opted Member

Nighat Huda an alumnus of the University of Southern California is a leading pioneer in the field of health professions education in Pakistan. She began her career in medical education at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan Department of Medical Education in 1985. For nearly thirty-five years, she has contributed to the development of undergraduate and postgraduate health professions education, including designing and delivery of innovative curriculum, faculty development, best practices in student centered learning and assessment. Moreover, she has worked with nursing and allied health professions educators of Pakistan. She is a strong advocate of public health, and preparing next generation of health professionals for primary health care aimed at improvement of population health. She has served as WHO Consultant on implementation of Community-Oriented Medical Education (COME) in Pakistan. Currently she is Professor and Director of Health Professions Education at Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College She is also At-Large Board Member of TUFH (Towards Unity for Health) an international network with focus on population health, inter-professional education and social accountability.

Since 1997, she has served National Committee on Maternal and Neonatal Health on projects pertaining to curriculum review and, development of training manuals for primary health workforce and master trainers, in view of her continued interest in women’s health, she facilitated a private University Community Partnership program on training of young women to serve as lady health visitors in the community adjacent to the University.

She has worked as the national Consultant on development of training programs and training of Family Welfare Workers (FWW). At international level, she is the Founding Member of Women and Health Task Force of Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) and currently Board of Director of Women and Health Together for Future (WHTF), South Africa.

Ms Huda has authored articles in peer reviewed journals, and contributed as a reviewer for national and international journals. She has been invited speaker to various national and international conferences and webinars on health professions education and university’s responsiveness to women’s health.

Dr. Talat Rizvi

Advisor

Dr Talat Rizvi is a Public Health Physician with a vast experience in Maternal and Child Health with a particular focus on community-based projects. Dr.Talat Rizvi has held senior positions with Government of Pakistan and has worked as consultant with International donor organizations.

Dr. Azra Ahsan

Vice President

Dr. Azra Ahsan is a graduate of Dow Medical College, Karachi. She has received postgraduate training in the UK and secured membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians &Gynecologists (RCOG), UK. She has since earned a Fellowship of the RCOG. She currently works as a consultant obstetrician & gynecologist in a tertiary hospital of Karachi.
She has rich and varied experience, having worked in UK, North Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan. She has a keen interest in Public Health and through her work at the National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH), she has overseen and implemented many interventions on Reproductive Health, including Emergency Obstetric & Newborn Care (EmONC), Post Abortion Care (PAC) and Family Planning. She works as Vice President and Technical Consultant to NCMNH and is also the President of the Association for Mothers and Newborns (AMAN), an NGO working for Maternal and Newborn health. She is a member of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Pakistan (SOGP) and an honorary member of the Midwifery Association of Pakistan (MAP). She was instrumental in spearheading a project on PAC in Pakistan, in collaboration with Ipas, during which Manual vacuum Aspiration (MVA) and Misoprostol for PAC (both being WHO recommended technologies) was introduced in Pakistan for the first time. She has also led the Post Partum Family Planning (PPFP) initiative in Pakistan by initiating an intervention on Post Partum Intra Uterine Contraceptive Device (PPIUCD) and demonstrated that it is a safe and effective method for FP.
She has many publications to her credit, including the EmONC manual in Urdu & English. She has been involved in reviewing the Verbal Autopsy Questionnaires during the Maternal Mortality Survey conducted by National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS). She is/has been a member of many steering committees and task forces, including the task force on population in Sindh.

Dr. Sadiah Ahsan Pal

Is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at OMI Hospital, Medicell Clinic & Concept Fertility Center (IVF) Karachi. Member of the Editorial Board of JPMA & Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists (MRCOG), UK, & is a former Member of its International Representative Committee for Pakistan. She is joint secretary of AMAN, Member of the NCMNH; former Vice President & Executive Member of SOGP & member of Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons (SOLES) of Pakistan. Former Professor OB/GYN at Baqai Medical University Karachi. Conducts regular training/workshops for National & International organizations on Colposcopy, Cervical Cancer Screening, Contraception, PPIUCD, MVA, Values Clarification & Behaviour Change (VCAT) in Reproductive Health, EmONC. She has authored numerous articles in national & international journals, newspapers and developed Training Manuals.

Dr. Shahida Zaidi

Dr. Shahida Zaidi is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist, who now practices diagnostic ultrasound. She was the first to start an ultrasound service in Karachi in 1979, and an ultrasound training institute for doctors in 1984. She is the author of two books on diagnostic ultrasound, “Real-time Ultrasound in Obstetrics and “Gynaecology” and “Abdominal Ultrasound”. She has edited 4 books/manuals related to Maternal and Perinatal Health, and Family Planning and MCH Service Delivery, and on Reproductive Health.

Prof. Sadiqua N. Jafarey

President

President of National Committee for Maternal and Neonatal Health (NCMNH) is an Obstetrician and Gynecologist with over 60 years of experience. A clinician, academician and a researcher with keen interest in Public Health, was previously a Professor at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center Karachi. She has conducted many studies on Maternal and Perinatal Mortality and Morbidity.

Dr. Zeba Sathar

Advisor

Zeba Sathar is a Senior Associate and directs the Population Council’s office in Islamabad, Pakistan, overseeing technical assistance and capacity building, social science research, and population and demographic dividend research that informs national policy discussions and developments. Sathar also represents the Council through advisory meetings with Government officials in Pakistan. Her expertise includes cross-national comparative research, advocacy for policy change, analysis of demographic trends and patterns, and evaluations of health service delivery systems. Sathar manages programs that bridge all three of the Council’s strategic priorities related to Poverty, Gender, and Youth; Reproductive Health; and HIV and AIDS.
Dr. Sathar has a PhD in medical demography from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a MSc in Demography from the London School of Economics. She frequently publishes articles on gender and equality, safe abortion and post abortion care, maternal and child health, and family planning and presents her research at national and international scientific conferences. Dr. Sathar received the award of Tamgha-i-Imtiaz by the President of Pakistan in March 2006 in recognition of her meritorious services to the development sector in Pakistan. She is also the first Pakistani to be elected to the Governing Council of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), and was a co-lead of FP2020’s Performance, Monitoring and Accountability working group. Also, she has been selected as a Commissioner on the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

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