Dr Zeba appointed commissioner on Guttmacher-Lancet Commission

Commission to identify sexual, reproductive health and rights priorities worldwide for next 15 years

Islamabad

Renowned Pakistani researcher and demographer Dr. Zeba Sathar, who is also the country director of Population Council Pakistan, has been named as Commissioner on the Guttmacher-Lancet Commission on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights. The Commission has been establish to articulate a forward-looking and evidence-based vision for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) priorities worldwide.

A total of 14 commissioners, all of them recognized experts from an array of disciplines and geographic regions, will work with the Commission, to identify Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Priorities for the next 15 years. In encouraging the adoption of policies and programmes that will turn the vision into reality, the Commission recognizes that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include, but do not address the full scope of SRHR.

The work of the Commission will encompass core SRHR issues such as contraceptive use, maternal and newborn health, and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; it will also focus on elements of SRHR that are often neglected or ignored, such as safe abortion services, nondiscrimination in access to SRH care based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and the need for high-quality, confidential and timely sexual and reproductive health services more broadly.

Dr. Zeba’s appointment as one of the commissioners is a matter of great pride fro Pakistan. She is a senior associate who directs the Population Council’s office in Islamabad. She joined the Council in 1994 as a deputy representative in the Islamabad office, where she conducted research on fertility and family planning; planned and implemented research projects; and managed relationships with donors. Prior to joining the Council, Dr. Zeba was chief of research and demography at the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and a population consultant with the World Bank in Islamabad.

In 2006, Sathar received the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz award by the President of Pakistan in recognition of her public service to the development sector in Pakistan. She is also the first Pakistani to be elected to the governing council of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, and is a co-lead of FP2020’s Performance, Monitoring and Accountability working group.

Dr. Zeba is a lead author on the Population Council’s publication ‘Capturing the Demographic Dividend in Pakistan,’ an evaluation of population trends and challenges in achieving demographic change, and policies for capturing the demographic dividend in Pakistan.

Dr. Zeba has a PhD in medical demography from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a MSc in demography from the London School of Economics. She frequently publishes articles on gender and equality, safe abortion and post-abortion care, maternal and child health, and family planning, and presents her research at national and international scientific conferences.