Aziz Memon installed as ESUP Patron-in-chief

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The outgoing President of the English Speaking Union of Pakistan (ESUP), Aziz Memon, in recognition of his exemplary services, was installed as the first-ever Patron-in-chief of the body during its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 26 while Kalim Farooqui was elected unopposed as President for the term 2022-23.

It’s another feather in the cap of the popular figure of Aziz Memon, who was also elected as the Vice President of ESU International, becoming the first Pakistani to achieve the global recognition for his services and initiatives. 

After having led the ESUP with distinction, he has now passed on the baton to Kalim Farooqui, who also happens to be the President of the Pakistan Japan Business Forum and is on the board of various bilateral forums as well as the Horticulture Society of Pakistan. 

The following were also unanimously elected on the National Committee of the Executive Council of ESUP: Senior Vice President (Pervez Madraswala), Vice President (Irfan Qureshi), Secretary General (Majyd Aziz), Honorary Treasurer (Najeeb Moochhala), and Joint Secretary (Afshan Lalani) while members are Moin Fudda, Shahzad Sabir, Bakhtiar Khan, Ghulam Ali Muhammad, Farooq Afzal, Sunayna Ismail, Athar Iqbal, Dr Farhan Essa, Saleem Zamindar, Nadeem Kazmi and Abbas Lavingia. 

Moin Fudda, Chairman of the Rules Committee, proposed innovative amendments to the ESUP Rules that were unanimously approved by the AGM. It’s for the first time that new categories of youth and journalist have been introduced. 

Aziz Memon announced that due to his extensive lobbying and in recognition of the fact that ESUP is the most active chapter among all ESU Chapters, his proposal that the next international conference of Members would be held in Karachi on October 28, 29 and 30, 2022 was approved at the ESU International meeting in London.

Kalim Farooqui, in his acceptance speech, requested members to fully support ESUP and pledged to enhance the exposure and influence of ESUP during his tenure. He paid glowing tributes to Aziz Memon who during his tenure introduced far-reaching changes and ideas. Past Presidents Byram Avari and Abdul Kader Jaffer and a large number of members attended the AGM.

Dedicated libraries for women demanded

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Association)

The speakers at a seminar ‘Role of Libraries in Women Empowerment’ which was held at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on March 26 demanded of the concerned authorities to develop libraries exclusively for women in major cities of the country. 

The seminar, organized jointly by Literary Committee of KPC, National Library Association (NLA) and Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD), highlighted the issues being faced by women library users besides throwing light on the opportunities awaiting them by making frequent use of libraries. 

Revealing that a library exclusively for women has been operating in Balochistan for the past six years, they urged the government as well as other stakeholders were to set up such libraries in various cities to facilitate women in learning and earning. 

Farheen Mahmood, Vice President, NLA, and Principal, Government Degree College, North Karachi, was the keynote speaker in the seminar while the session was presided over by Jahangir Moghul, a renowned social figure and philanthropist. 

The speakers in the seminar included Asma Hassan, a famous motivational writer and author, besides experienced librarians, Muhammad Ibrahim, Huma Mannan Butt, Muhammad Nasir Nayab and Muhammad Amin Jamali. 

The NLA President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, and its Secretary, Anwar Hussain, also spoke on the occasion while the proceedings were conducted by Syed Khalid Mahmood, a veteran journalist and library activist. 

The audience, mostly belonging to the field of library and information science, was enlightened by the thought-provoking narrations by the worthy speakers for about two hours. 

The seminar was organized as part of the International Women Day’s celebrations. Copies of acclaimed book, Mayar-e-Zindagi, authored by Asma Hassan, one of the speakers of the event, was presented to the dignitaries and participants.

WHO designates AKU as collaborating centre

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has opened a collaborating centre on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) at the Aga Khan University Medical College’s Department of Community Health Sciences (CHS) in Karachi, This is the first such centre specific to SRHR in Pakistan and the fourth in general in the country. 

The partnership incorporates AKU into a network of over 800 WHO collaborating centres in over 80 member states working with the global health body on areas such as nursing, occupational health, communicable diseases, nutrition, mental health, chronic diseases and health technologies. 

Dr Sarah Saleem, a professor of population and reprictive health at AKU, will lead the centre and provide strategic support in implementing WHO's mandated work and programme objectives, and develop and strengthen institutional capacity in the 22 countries and territories within the EMRO (Eastern Mediterranean) region. She is also the principal investigator for the Eastern Mediterranean hub for research capacity strengthening, based within AKU’s CHS Department, which was initiated in 2019 and has trained over 200 participants in sexual and reproductive health research, including gender-based violence. 

“This enables so many people to take their first steps towards quality research, policy and development in SRHR. We are contributing to a cause, a country and a region,” she remarked. 

The collaboration aims to provide technical input and expertise on WHO’s repository of SRHR evidence, guidelines and training resources; to assist WHO in building national and regional capacity on sexual and reproductive health through training on SRHR; and to support WHO in conducting collaborative research, under WHO's leadership, on SRHR at the regional level.  

The team is in the process of forming a virtual network of institutions within EMRO to discuss their needs and share knowledge. The team is already developing an open-access SRHR repository housed within the AKU library. This project is led by Dr Peter Gatiti, AKU Associate Vice Provost and University Librarian, and it will serve as a region-specific one-stop rich resource for scientists, researchers and policymakers. 

The WHO collaborating centres are institutions such as research institutes, parts of universities or academies, designated by the director-general to carry out activities in support of the organization's programmes. 

The WHO gains access to top centres worldwide and the institutional capacity to ensure the scientific validity of global health work. Conversely, designation as a WHO collaborating centre provides institutions with enhanced visibility and recognition by national authorities, calling public attention to the health issues on which they work. 

Dr Farina Abrejo, a senior instructor, is the co-principal investigator at the centre. AKU's School of Nursing and Midwifery is also working with the centre, represented by Dr Saleema Gulzar.

DS Railways visits Karachi Cantonment Station

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Divisional Superintendent Pakistan Railways, Karachi Division, Kashif Rasheed Yusufani, has emphasized that railway was a public service entity and as such every one working in the organization should devote all their energies and resources in providing the best possible service to commuters. 

He made these observations while addressing the reservation staff at the Karachi Cantonment Station during a visit to the station including the visit to Current Booking office and platforms 1 to 8. 

During the visit he also inspected the coaches of Korakoram Express at one of the platforms and inquired from passengers about the facilities being provided to them. 

During inspection of reservation office, the DS Railways called for an early reformation of queue management system, making air-conditioning system functional and providing increased seating capacity for passengers. 

While reviewing the schedules of departing trains, he issued directive for ensuring their on-time departure in order to prevent inconvenience to the passengers. During the visit, DS Karachi was accompanied by Divisional Commercial Officer and DTO, Ishaq Baluch, and other concerned officials.

Public-private partnership to boost immunization in high-risk Karachi UCs

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Efforts to integrate private providers for boosting routine childhood vaccination in Karachi’s low-income areas are set to receive a much-needed shot in the arm as a memorandum of understanding, signed by the Sindh Department of Health and the Aga Khan University goes into effect. 

The agreement entails integrating local private healthcare providers at the neighbourhood level to plug the gap in the government’s immunization infrastructure and develop sustainable community networks for increasing immunization coverage. 

The project, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, targets hot spots of immunization refusals in eight union councils of Karachi to increase zero dose vaccination provided at birth as well as Penta-3 vaccination in under six-month children which is a marker of complete vaccination in under six-month children. Through the project, immunization services and basic preventive care will be offered at 18 Expanded Programme of Immunization (EPI) centres set up within neighbourhood private provider clinics, NGO clinics and maternity homes. 

Community members in the districts where the project is to be implemented report that private clinics located in the local neighbourhood are the mainstay for their daily illnesses but do not offer immunization services, and while polio teams go from door to door to administer polio drops, the same facility is not available for other childhood vaccines for which families must visit government hospitals located at a considerable distance. 

According to AKU’s senior lead for the project, Professor Shehla Zaidi, AKU with EPI Sindh and other government stakeholders will co-design novel action learning strategies for co-opting private providers for quality assured services including pay for performance, quality accreditation scores and positive behaviour recognition, supported digital communication and community networks. The project will build sustainable links with the Sindh Health Department’s Action Plan for Strengthening Public Private Partnerships 2021-26 and regulatory frameworks towards urban primary health centres. 

Elaborating on the unique challenges of immunization delivery in megacities, Dr Irshad Memon, head of the EPI in Sindh, asserted that immunization rates in Karachi are far lower than in the province’s rural districts. “So far we have struggled to put in place a system to ensure that private providers report immunization volumes, provide free services and deliver quality-assured services. Hence this project fills a key need for technical assistance for effective private engagement for the urban poor. We need sustainable health systems as we don’t want to see super high-risk union councils in five years,” he explained.

Younis Hashmi appointed NLA Overseas Coordinator

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The National Library Association (NLA) has appointed Muhammad Younis Hashmi as its Overseas Coordinator with immediate effect. 

He has also been re-designated as the Association’s Public Relation Secretary, after having served as the Information Secretary with distinction for the past couple of years. 

The NLA President, Syed Muzaffar Ali Shah, while making the announcement in Karachi on March 24, thoroughly praised the efforts of Younis Hashmi in the formative years of the Association which had come into being in 2017. 

“Being one of our founder members, he has played a very active role during the last five years. He has worked very hard during the past couple of years in particular and his contribution in reaching out the library professionals far and wide has helped the cause of the Association immensely,” the NLA President recognized. 

“We are confident that the twin responsibilities bestowed on him will further boost the NLA locally and abroad. His networking with librarians all over the world and his agility to personally visit libraries in different locations remain an asset to the Association,” Muzaffar Ali Shah commended. 

The NLA Advisor, Syed Khalid Mahmood, also lavishly praised the proactive approach of Younis Hashmi.

"He brings great energy and enthusiasm to the NLA team. His selfless attitude is praiseworthy and his dedication and commitment to the Association is second to none. He thoroughly deserves the twin portfolio and his efforts will surely enable the NLA to scale greater heights," the NLA Advisor reckoned. 

After having retired from long service as librarian at the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the soft-spoken Younis Hashmi has been commuting regularly to Canada besides visiting other countries.

NLA, KPC and Rotary Darakhshan join hands to hold Women’s Day seminar

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi 

(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A seminar ‘Role of Libraries in Women Empowerment’ is being organized by Literary Committee of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) with the collaboration of National Library Association (NLA) and Rotary Club of Karachi Darakhshan (RCKD) at the KPC Auditorium on March 26. 

Syeda Shehla Raza, Deputy Speaker, Sindh Assembly, will be the keynote speaker while the seminar will also be addressed by Munazza Abidi, Senior Vice President, NLA, Farheen Mahmood, Vice President, NLA, Asma Hassan, motivational speaker and author, Dr Aftab Imam, District Governor, Rotary International, and Jahangir Moghul, Charter President, RCKD. 

The session, to be held from 3 to 5 pm, will be moderated by A H Khanzada, former Secretary, currently heading the KPC’s Literary Committee, and he will be assisted by Syed Khalid Mahmood, Advisor, NLA, and President, RCKD. 

The seminar is being held as a part of the International Women’s Day celebrations to highlight the significance of libraries for the women folks in particular.