​Events

The Institute regularly hosts events that address major global health and development ​themes. Here is a sneak peak of our upcoming and past events.  To receive notice of upcoming events, sign up here.

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​​​Past Events 

The New Forefront for Action on Climate Change and Health in Pakistan


On December 21, 2021, IGHD hosted a roundtable discussion on climate change and health in Islamabad, titled 'The New Forefront for Action on Climate Change and Health in Pakistan'. The objective of this discussion was to convene Pakistan’s leading researchers and policy experts in the nexus of climate change and health and determine the future path towards establishing a network, coordinated research, policy formulation, and broad multi-sectoral national response. This meeting also served to introduce the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), Pakistan, a newly formed national structure, housed within the Institute for Global Health and Development at Aga Khan University. The SDSN, Pakistan is part of a global network of national-level coordination and action bodies that promote integrated approaches to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, through education, research, policy analysis, and global cooperation. 

Recurring heatwaves, heavy monsoon rainfalls, floods, droughts, sub-optimal agriculture output, and food shortage in various regions of Pakistan are having an inordinate impact on the health and wellbeing of the population. Studies show that despite emitting less than one percent of the global emissions, Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change. 

This roundtable addressed the following questions:

  • What are the consequences of climate change on health in Pakistan, and how should they be prioritized?

  • What interventions are reasonable to aim in the health sector for the mitigation of and building resilience to the adverse effects of climate change? 

  • How should these interventions be prioritized and tested? 

  • What planning process should be initiated in these sectors at all levels? 

  • What networks championing the area of climate change and health are needed? What are the next steps/ goals?

'While we engage and have global dialogues with the rest of the world about global environment, we need to pay more attention to the local context of climate change', said Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister on National Health, and chief guest of the evening.

'There are two notable climate change variables driving poor linear growth in children; increase in surface temperature and change in soil water. These factors have a reasonable impact on stunting and wasting in children.' said Dr. Zulfiqar A Bhutta, distinguished Professor and Founding Director, IGHD, while demonstrating a detailed analysis of the impact of climate change on maternal and child health in Pakistan. ​

Some of the other notables attendees included Lt. Gen. Dr. Nigar Johar Khan, Surgeon General and Colonel Commandant of Pakistan; Abid Suleri, Executive Director, Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Islamabad; and Maj. Gen. Dr. Aamer Ikram, Professor and Executive Director, National Institute of Health (NIH). 

Roux Prize 2021, Winner's Seminar​

ZAB Wins Roux Prize.png 

​​Join us on 6 December 2021 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m. PST to celebrate the 2021 Roux Prize winner, Dr. Zulfiqar Bhutta, Founding Director, Institute for Global Health and Development. Moderated by the 2019 prize winner and editor-in-chief of The Lancet, Dr. Richard Horton, the seminar will feature a presentation by Dr. Bhutta on his life and work, as well as responses from a distinguished panel including Dr. Bob Black and Dr. Soumya Swaminathan. The panelists will also be joined by IHME director Dr. Christopher J. L. Murray and Roux Prize founders David and Barbara Roux.​

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Watch the Livestream Here

​Panel Discussion: Climate Change and Health Risks

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​Join us at the twenty-fourth Sustainable Development Conference, hosted by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), as we discuss the imminent adverse effects of climate change on health and well-being. Click here​​ to watch. ​​​​