Policy planners receive immunization financing training

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Immunization programme managers, health policy planners and private sector officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan attended a four-day skill-building workshop at Aga Khan University on the planning of financially sustainable national vaccination programmes. 

Pakistan and Afghanistan rely on the financial support of the Global Alliance for Vaccines (GAVI) for their nationwide routine immunization programmes. 

From 2020, Pakistan will need to take on greater responsibility for financing the provision of these life-saving vaccines as GAVI phases of support in order to focus on the needs of the world’s poorest countries. 

Pakistan is currently in the preparatory transition phase and this shift requires the country’s health planners to develop the advanced skills needed to move towards self-sufficiency. 

“We’ve applied economic concepts and used real-life case studies from around the world to share practical lessons on how to plan a sustainable response to forthcoming financing challenges. Interestingly, we have kept a mix of public and private sector trainees so that we can develop a network of knowledgeable resource people who can collectively respond through pooling expertise and blended financing,” Dr Shehla Zaidi, regional trainer and an associate professor in Community Health Sciences and the Department of Women and Child Health at AKU, remarked. 

The Sindh Health Secretary Fazlullah Pechuho said: “Donor commitment for vaccines is declining and we have to make arrangements to fill this gap when the GAVI and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation support disappears. There should be arrangements for the local production of vaccines as this will help improve the financial sustainability of programmes.” 

The workshop was the first of three such capacity building workshops funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on vaccine economics and financing. 

During the workshop faculty from the Aga Khan University, Johns Hopkins University and senior figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), provided training sessions to immunization sector stakeholders. 

Speaking about the goals of the workshop, WHO’s Representative to Pakistan Dr Mohammad Assai said: “Vaccines save over 2 million lives a year and represent one of the most cost-effective ways to protect children and adults from disease. By addressing critical gaps in the financial planning and management of immunization programmes, these workshops will ensure that vital health programmes can manage forthcoming challenges. They will also make sure that decisions to introduce new vaccines are based on sound evidence.” 

The workshop ended with a panel discussion featuring a mix of public and private sector representatives from Pakistan and Afghanistan, moderated by literary critic and former public health specialist Asif Farrukhi, and chaired by Sindh Health Secretary Fazlullah Pechuho. 

The sessions under the workshop represent the university’s efforts to support Goal 3 of the Sustainable Development Goals which call for countries around the world to ensure the availability of safe, effective, quality and affordable vaccinations for all.

Policy experts recommend steps to help Pakistan excel in science education

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The persistence of outdated teaching methods in science in Pakistan’s classrooms, coupled with a lack of emphasis on developing qualified science teachers, is holding back the country’s potential to excel in science and technology, according to public and private sector experts speaking at a policy dialogue at the Aga Khan University’s Institute for Educational Development.

The policy dialogue brought together a panel of experts from Alif Ailaan, the Sindh Curriculum Bureau, the Institute of Business Administration as well as science teachers from schools and universities to discuss how to transform education practices so that today’s students can become tomorrow’s innovators.

“Innovation in science and technology begins by inspiring students about the possibilities of science. Too many classrooms across the country have teachers using rote learning methods that fail to involve students and limit their ability to apply their knowledge to the world around them,” Professor Nelofer Halai from the Institute of Educational Development observed. 

On the reasons why rote learning methods remain prevalent in schools, experts noted that there are serious gaps in the content knowledge of teachers at all levels of the education system. 

The specialist teachers for science are only present at college level; even though all students from primary to secondary to higher education should have access to knowledgeable, trained teachers. 

Since many of today’s teachers lack confidence in their understanding of the subject, they focus on telling students how to pass exams instead of teaching them how to think for themselves, the panel noted.

The experts recommended that teaching training programmes for science teachers should inquiry-based teaching methods that require students to pose questions and to develop their own processes to arrive at answers. 

To this end, Professor Halai noted that science teachers would need formal mentoring programmes to help them introduce such techniques into lesson plans and called for the induction of science teacher educators in colleges across the country. 

“Science education of the future needs to accommodate the changing views of science as well as the changing views of effective professional development to make real headway in developing science literacy in Pakistan,” Professor Halai added. 

Speaking at the event, Salman Naveed Khan, head of policy and political engagement at Alif Ailaan, said: “Subjects such as science and mathematics can be inspirational when taught well. Our studies have shown that Pakistani students consistently score the lowest in mathematics and science even though these subjects are key drivers of a country’s economic growth. We need to act now to ensure that Pakistan’s large and growing youth population is inspired by the potential of science and can contribute to the country’s prosperity.” 

The panelists also stated that the world’s most prosperous societies are distinguished by their ability to generate knowledge that helps them tackle the challenges posed by poverty, hunger, pollution and inequality. 

This ability to generate knowledge by asking questions and approaching problems in new, imaginative ways relies on a scientific mindset being inculcated at the primary, secondary and higher education levels. 

The other speakers at the event included Dr Shehzad Jeeva, director of the Aga Khan University Examination Board, Mr Noor Khoso, deputy director of the Sindh Curriculum Bureau, and Dr Irfan Rind, head of the department of education at IBA, Sukkur. 

The event’s objectives are in line with goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals: ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. Targets under the goal call for steps to widen access to education and to ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.