KMU, German varsity to conduct research study

PESHAWAR: Khyber Medical University (KMU), Peshawar and Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg (FAU), Germany have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Social Health Protection Initiative (SHPI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to conduct a research study.

This study will inform the implementation of the pilot project to extend the SHPI to OPD services in four pilot districts of the province.

The Heidelberg Institute for Global Health, University of Heidelberg (HIGH) and ICU Healthcare are also a part of the academic consortium.

According to the MoU, Dr Zohaib Khan, Director, ORIC-KMU, Dr Saeeda Bibi, Deputy Director, SHPI programme, KP, and Prof Dr. Landmann will be the liaison persons for the MoU, which was signed by Prof Zia Ul Haq, Axel Klon, and Dr Riaz Tanoli on behalf of KMU, FAU and SHPI-KP, respectively.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief guest Dr Farooq Jamil, Special Secretary Health, said the KP government was committed to providing high-quality healthcare to the people of the province.

He appreciated the proposed scope of work by the research consortium and highlighted that the presence of the local partner KMU would help develop local capacity and ensure the smooth conduct of field activities.

KMU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ziaul Haq who was the guest of honour at the event, highlighted the role of KMU in local evidence generation, especially now that the university is a part of a wider evidence generating hub of the WHO in the region.

He assured all partners that KMU, as the focal point of research, would put in its maximum efforts for the successful conduct of the project, as it is a dire need of the province’s population.

Dr Riaz Tanoli, CEO, SHPI, talked about the success of the SHPI, resulting from the government’s unflinching support for the programme.

He reiterated the programme would be keenly observing the findings of the research studies by the consortium and committed to extending all-out support to the project.

The principal investigator Prof Dr Andreas Landmann (FAU) highlighted his decade-long involvement with the various social health protection programmes in Pakistan.

He said the consortium would bring all its experience and technical know-how to generate evidence that has the potential to inform and facilitate the SHPI programme in making data-driven decisions.

Dr Andreas Landmann said the consortium would look into tracking the changes in health delivery induced by the OPD scheme for all the involved parties, most importantly the people of four pilot districts.

Mohammad Arshad, CEO of Federal Social Health Protection Programme, and Dr Sohail Amjad from the consulting firm spoke on the occasion.