Dr Sameen Siddiqi, professor and chair of community health sciences at AKU, has been appointed as a senior adviser to the federal health minister’s high-level core team which seeks to expand access to quality health services across the country.
Dr Siddiqi , who has previously advised the governments of 22 countries on reforms to strengthen their health systems, will assist Pakistan’s health ministry in scaling up its Sehat Saulat programme, which seeks to provide health coverage to citizens living in disadvantaged areas who earn less than US$ 2 per day.
The initiative corresponds with Pakistan’s efforts to achieve universal health coverage, which extends to both the availability and affordability of healthcare, and is a target under goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals.
With prior experience of working for the World Health Organization, Dr Siddiqi previously spearheaded universal health coverage reforms in its Eastern Mediterranean Region.
Earlier, he served as a senior health specialist in the World Bank, Islamabad, in 2002 and provided technical assistance to the government of Pakistan in the execution of the health component of the Social Action Programme. The programme worked to develop the capacity of provincial health departments and district health offices, one of the basic components of universal health coverage. Between 1994 and 2000, at the Health Services Academy, Islamabad, he was instrumental in developing the first-ever masters in public health programme in the public sector. He also briefly served as chief planning officer with Pakistan’s Ministry of Health.
Dr Siddiqi has a masters and fellowship in public health from the UK, a doctorate in medicine from Germany and a fellowship in internal medicine from Pakistan. He has multiple publications and has written several policy papers that have influenced health reforms in countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
“I’m delighted to be part of the health minister’s team in tackling healthcare problems and bringing Pakistan closer to universal health coverage. The challenges are huge but so are the opportunities, which should not be missed,” said Dr Siddiqi.
Dr Siddiqi has worked in health systems for over three decades and has interest and expertise in health governance and financing, policy analysis, global health and non-communicable disease prevention and control.