31st July ,2019: Heartfile co-hosted an advocacy seminar with @WHOPakistan & Nutrition wing of MoNHSRC in Islamabad to sketch the prevalence and sources of TFA in Pakistani diet and outlined a road map for policymakers and civil society to make Pakistan #TransFatFree by 2023.
30th July , 2019 :Heartfile and Mexico SaludHable held stakeholder meetings to start joint action on trans-fat elimination in Pakistan and Mexico based on the REPLACE action package.
11th July, 2019: Heartfile co-hosted a dissemination event with @WHOPakistan & Nutrition wing of MoNHSRC in Islamabad to share the situational analysis on trans-fats in the Pakistan context & discuss how to make Pakistan Trans-fat free by 2023.
27th May, 2019: Heartfile, one of the ten advocates from eight countries attended an NCD Alliance training in Geneva on 22 & 23 May 2019 on the margins of the 72nd World Health Assembly to increase their knowledge and advocacy skills for trans-fat elimination.
Aug 22, 2019, In her capacity as a Co-chair of the WHO’s High-Level Commission (HCL) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Dr. Sania Nishtar was invited to join the opening plenary of 19th WPA World Congress of Psychiatry in Lisbon, Portugal. The World Congress was convened between Aug 21-24, 2019 to discuss how psychiatry can impact some of the most important social challenges facing communities across the globe. Virtually addressing the amazing gathering of 4,000 psychiatric community and mental health experts from 119 countries across the globe, Dr. Nishtar said that WHO’s HCL on NCDs strongly believes that mental health and NCDs are inextricably linked. They share common determinants each of which predisposes and exacerbate one other. She continued, ‘It is a dilemma that people with severe mental illness die 10-20 years early because of NCDs such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and unmanaged cancer. This is mainly because of their vulnerability to higher NCD risks such as physical inactivity, smoking, unhealthy diet and harmful use of alcohol’. The full footage of Dr. Nishtar’s address can be accessed here
Aug 20, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Federal Minister and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, launched the first Women in Global Health (WGH) Chapter in South Asia in an inauguration ceremony at the federal capital. During the launch she stated that women are 70 percent of global health workforce. But they hold only 25 percent of senior and leadership roles. The percentage is even less in Pakistan and there is a recognized need for introducing gender sensitive workplace policies for attracting and retaining female health workforce in the labor market. Dr. Nishtar also revealed that government is introducing a number of initiatives under the Ehsaas that are aimed at promoting gender mainstreaming and empowering women.
Aug 17, 2019, In line with his vision of universal health coverage, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday launched Sehat Sahulat Programme for persons with disabilities and their families in Pakistan and said his government’s vision was based on the principles of lifting the conditions of the downtrodden and weaker segments of society. Special Assistant to the PM on Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza and Special Assistant to the PM on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Sania Nishtar were also present at the launch ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Sania Nishtar announced 5 of the priority goals of Ehsaas, which are part of the Ehsaas Strategy. These include: Safety net for at least 10 million families, Livelihood opportunities for 5 million individuals (50% women); financial access to healthcare through Insaf card for 10 million families; scholarships and education incentives for more than 5 million students (more than 50% girls); and through the Kifalat program, financial inclusion and access to mobile phones for 6 million women and 500 digital hubs for them to access internet. These goals will be explained in the Ehsaas strategy, which will be released soon. Dr. Sania also elaborated on the other disability related policies in the Ehsaas framework.
Aug 12, 2019, On Eid day, Dr Sania Nishtar visited the Government of Punjab’s Child Protection home in Rawalpindi and the Edhi home in Islamabad. During both visits she interacted with resident children and women and social welfare workers firsthand over several hours and was briefed about the activities of both welfare homes. Their heartbreaking stories provided rich insights for Ehsaas policy actions on social safety of vulnerables particularly women & children.
Aug 9, 2019, The first meeting of Ehsaas Communications Committee was held in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat to discuss the communications strategic planning process, identify communications needs and priorities for Ehsaas Program and define key respective areas of execution for different organizations involved in the implementation of Ehsaas Program under the umbrella of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD). Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation chaired the meeting. In its first meeting, participants discussed the key elements of the Ehsaas communications strategy that is in its final stages of being developed. “The core objective of the strategy is to apprise potential beneficiaries about ways of accessing benefits”, Dr. Nishtar emphasized.
Aug 4-5, 2019, Dr. Nishtar joined Strategic Leadership Retreat for Ethiopian women Ministers as part of the expert adjunct faculty along with distinguished women leaders from around the world. Ethiopian President H.E. Sahle-Work Zewdie and first African woman president from Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also joined the Leadership Retreat and motivated Women Ministers.The retreat was organized in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia.The primary goal of the Leadership Retreat was to equip the new cohort of 10 Ethiopian women Ministers with tools to help them navigate effectively in a historically patriarchal political system, and to achieve their priority policy goals. The retreat was organized in three main parts: Legacy, Leadership and Delivery.Dr. Nishtar helped, led and informed discussions throughout the retreat. She mentored the Ethiopian Ministers along with other women leaders from around the world to map personal plans for their tenure in office.
Aug 1, 2019, The Prime Minister’s Special Assistant( Federal Minister) for Social Protection and Poverty Alleviation/Chairperson BISP, Dr. Sania Nishtar held an intensive dialogue with youth from the newly merged districts of North Waziristan, South Waziristan and Khyber to discuss development issues and poverty alleviation, and youth’s participation in these efforts , at the Human Resource Center of Sarhad Rural Support Programme at Peshawar.Dr. Nishtar said that Ehsaas would like to learn from the grass root experience of the youth for poverty alleviation.
July 30, 2019, Dr. Sania Nishtar was a keynote speaker at the 5th CPA Pakistan 2019 Asia Regional Conference held in Islamabad. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Nishtar stated that Ehsaas is biggest pro-poor & whole-of-government multisectoral program, not only for poor but for poverty-stricken areas as well. The conference was attended by Speaker of Ugandan Parliament and incumbent President, Member of British Parliament Lord Purvis of Tweed Jeremy Purvis, Member Malaysian Parliament Dr. Noraini Binti Ahmad, Chairperson CPA Executive Committee Emilia Lifaka, Secretary General CPA Akbar Khan, Speaker Gilgit Baltistan Legislative Assembly Fida Muhammad Nashad, Speaker Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly Shah Ghulam Qadir and other national and international personalities of prominence, members of parliament and observers.
