Sania nishtar biography

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She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and took a Ph.D at Kings College London. She was the inaugural Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel (IAP) for women’s and children’s health; and, among other roles, served as Co-Chair of the WHO Independent High-level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases, WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Health and Healthcare and US National Academy of Sciences’ global study on health care quality in low- and middle-income countries.

Sania also served as the Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Women’s and Children’s Health.

Sania has received many international awards for her work, including Pakistan’s prestigious Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence), the European Societies Population Science Award, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Global Innovation Award.

She founded the non-profit NGO think tank Heartfile, which campaigns for health reform in Pakistan. Sania worked at Guy’s Hospital and studied Medicine at King’s, graduating in 1996 and gaining her PhD in 2002. From late 2018-April 2022 Sania served as Special Assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister and Federal Minister for the government’s Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety.

In 2017, she was Pakistan’s nominee for Director-General of the World Health Organisation and was in the final shortlist of three.

She is founder of the NGO Heartfile and has received many international awards for her work and is widely published.

Sania Nishtar graduated as the best graduate in 1986. From November 2018-May 22, she served as Special Assistant of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and Federal Minister, where she held the Cabinet portfolio of Poverty Alleviation; in that role she founded and was responsible for implementing Ehsaas, the largest social protection program in the country’s history, which reached out to 15 million households and was widely acclaimed internationally.

She also led the Pakistan Lancet Series on Health Reform. One of her books, Choked Pipes, an analysis of Pakistan’s health system, is widely recognised as a call for reform.

Previously serving as a federal minister in the Pakistan interim government in 2013 – when she was instrumental in establishing the country’s Ministry of Health – Sania was elected to the Senate in 2021.

In 2013, during Pakistan’s Caretaker Government, she served as a Federal Minister with responsibility for re-establishing the country’s Ministry of Health among other roles, winning acclaim for transparency and accountability during her time in office.

During her career, Dr Nishtar has fulfilled several leadership positions in civil society and international organisations.

She was also the Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Program during that time.

Dr. Dr Nishtar, most recently a Senator in her home country of Pakistan, joined Gavi as its CEO on 18 March 2024.

A trained medical doctor, Dr Nishtar has built an outstanding career over 30 years as a national and global leader. A prolific thought leader, she has co-authored dozens of academic papers and books, including Pakistan’s first compendium of health statistics; and she has been published in many leading national and international newspapers.

Dr Nishtar graduated from Khyber Medical College as the best graduate in 1986 and joined the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences as a cardiologist in 1994.

Dr Nishtar served as Chair of Gavi’s Evaluation Advisory Committee from 2011 to 2014, and in 2016 served as an independent member of Gavi’s Board. She also served as Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the future of healthcare; as well as Co-Chair of the US National Academy of Sciences’ global study on healthcare quality in low- and middle-income countries.

Having graduated from Khyber Medical University at the top of her class in 1986, she joined the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences as a cardiologist in 1994. In addition, she is a member of the UN Global Alliance for Poverty Eradication and has previously chaired the UN University International Institute for Global Health’s Advisory Committee. In Pakistan’s national government, she served between 2018 and 2022 as Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, a role with the status of a Federal Minister.