NIH advertises key posts; CDC chief transferred

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services has withdrawn the charge of chief of Communicable Disease Control (CDC) at the National Institute of Health (NIH) from Dr Sadia Akhtar, and appointed her as Director, National Health Data Centre (NHDC).

Dr Saadia has a diploma in ophthalmology and an MPH degree but no prior experience in public health or epidemiology.

In another development, two key posts — executive director, Centre for Disease Control (CDC), and executive director, Vaccine and Biological Products Centre — have been advertised even though the NIH has no board of governors (BoG) in place, which under the NIH Reorganisation Act is the competent authority for appointing executive directors.

The Communicable Disease Control Division is Pakistan’s central command for epidemic detection and response, overseeing surveillance of dengue, malaria, cholera, influenza, and emerging infections. It also coordinates with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on outbreak alerts and IHR reporting. The division has remained without a permanent head since the departure of veteran public health expert Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar, who previously led Pakistan’s Covid-19 response.

The development comes amid a prolonged governance vacuum at NIH, which has been functioning without a BoG for over two years.

Experts warn that the absence of BoG and the politicisation of key appointments have weakened the country’s preparedness for health emergencies.

Repeated attempts to obtain official comments from the health ministry and NIH management went unanswered.