Dr. Raja presenting a souvenir to Dr. Farhat Moazzam during a workshop on 'Ethical Issues of Health Research in Developing Countries', held at Aga Khan University on July 22, 2001.

The week-long workshop on Ethical Issues of Health Research in Developing Countries, concluded at Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi. Over 100 participants from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Thailand attended this international workshop, which was conducted in collaboration with the Harvard School of Public Health, Pakistan Medical Research Council and Indian Council for Medical Research. This was the first workshop of its kind in Pakistan and was a very important national and regional initiative.

The participants discussed and deliberated on all aspects of ethical issues pertaining to health research with a special focus on informed consent, standards of care and reproductive health research, which are contentious issues in the developing world. The workshop had a special session on Islam, Ethics and Culture, where Islamic scholars, ethicists, sociologists and scientists discussed the integrated relationships between these basic tenets of our society.