Dr Salimah Walani is the Dean of the Aga Khan University (AKU) School of Nursing and Midwifery, Pakistan. Dr Walani has extensive global health experience. Before joining AKU in August 2024, Dr Walani was Global Policy and Advocacy Advisor at MiracleFeet – a US-based not-for-profit organisation with programmes in 35 countries. Prior to that, she was Vice President of Global Programmes at March of Dimes Foundation, USA, where she led the organisation's maternal and Newborn health partnerships in low- and middle-income countries.
In addition to these positions, she has held leadership, advisory, and consultative roles with notable organisations such as the New York City Department of Health, the World Health Organization and New York University, among others.
Originally from Pakistan, Salimah Walani graduated from Aga Khan University School of Nursing in 1987 and subsequently pursued a Master of Science in Nursing from Simmons University, Boston, a Master of Public Health from Harvard University, and a PhD from New York University.
Dr. Walani is well-known for her advocacy for the global birth defects agenda. In 2014 she helped develop a partnership for the launch of the World Birth Defects Day. She has served on several maternal and newborn health technical advisory groups and is an honorary member of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research.
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