Zainab Samad Cardiologist and Professor of Medicine, Aga Khan University Karachi, Pakistan As a consulting cardiologist in Pakistan’s Aga Khan University Hospital, Dr. Zainab Samad has seen the rapid evolution in the country’s most pressing health concerns. While it still confronts significant challenges in treating infectious diseases and ensuring the health of newborns and mothers, chronic conditions like obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease are on the rise, pressing Pakistan’s health systems to adapt. In 2018, Aga Khan worked with DGHI faculty to launch a training program to support early-career researchers in studying ways to improve the prevention and care of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, which is now among the leading causes of death in the country. Samad, who chairs Aga Khan University’s Department of Medicine, also launched the Health Data Science Center to draw insights from clinical data about changes in disease burden across the country. A native of Pakistan who earned her medical degree from Aga Khan, Samad completed a residency in internal medicine and a cardiology fellowship at Duke, and she is currently an adjunct faculty member in the Duke School of Medicine. I am working to change … … and improve human health in Pakistan. We are doing that by promoting the continuous and consistent use of data to inform the state of health in Pakistan and to identify areas for improvement. We are working with public institutions and the government to develop responsive solutions to local needs and implement programs targeted to those areas. The biggest challenges we face … … is the paucity of trained researchers that can collect and analyze data in the areas of public health and noncommunicable diseases. We also face dire economic challenges and resource scarcity, and there are always surprises that keep us on our toes, like COVID-19 and the recent extreme flooding that affected much of Pakistan. However, these challenges also represent opportunities for rapid innovation. Partnering with DGHI helps us … … work together to find solutions for the crisis of noncommunicable diseases in Pakistan. This is a cherished collaboration that is founded on a mutual love for making a difference. Our collaborators at DGHI have been fantastic partners, mentors for our trainees, and teachers in our didactic curriculum. It’s important for our partners to … … be able to listen, understand our local challenges and context, and co-develop resources and solutions with us. We need partners like DGHI to use their unique voice and influence to tackle global south problems and to highlight the wins along the way. I am inspired by … … our trainees who engage and partner with local communities. They are realizing the power of the community and grassroots efforts to bring about change, and through this work, they are showing that amid great challenges, there are also reasons for great hope. The problems we face are big, but by training others we can work to tackle them together. In five years, I hope … … that we will have a diverse community of bright-eyed, trained researchers, both men and women, who are asking the big questions about how to improve the care of noncommunicable diseases in Pakistan, and that they will be leading the way in working with civil society and the government to develop, test and implement solutions.
