• Aga Khan lauds varsity’s contributions to fight against pandemic
• Melinda Gates terms AKU transformative force for public health

KARACHI: The class of 2020 ended its journey at the Aga Khan University (AKU) as some 667 students from three continents received their degrees in the first-ever global convocation of the varsity that was live-streamed to worldwide viewers on Saturday.

The graduates belonged to Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the United Kingdom.

Addressing the ceremony through video link, His Highness the Aga Khan, the AKU’s founder and chancellor, praised the graduates for having chosen the path of service to humanity. He expressed his pride in the university’s contributions to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and saluted the courage and resilience of its faculty, staff and students.

“The university has made a critical difference — advising national governments, training public-sector medical staff, working with teachers and schools, raising awareness through media and journalism, and doing everything possible to treat patients and to save lives,” Aga Khan said.

He also noted the role of AKU researchers in tracking new mutations of coronavirus, assessing safety and effectiveness of vaccines and evaluating therapies for Covid-19.

Co-chair and Trustee of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda French Gates commended the AKU for its leadership in improving health and empowering women, and voiced confidence in the graduates.

“The Aga Khan University is not only a global resource — it is a transformative force for public health and women’s health,” Ms Gates said. “We’re proud of our partnership with the AKU over the years.”

“As graduates of AKU, you join a remarkable group of women and men who are changing lives for the better all over the world,” she told the graduates. “And let me tell you: the world desperately needs your energy and leadership.”

She also congratulated the many who are the first of their families to be graduates. “And I am glad to find 70 per cent of women amid the graduates,” she said.

She stressed the need for putting women at the centre of recovery efforts during the pandemic. “I am inspired to be here. You are the leaders we need. You will be the architects of a better, fair and equitable world,” she said to the graduating students, especially the majority of females among them.

The Gates Foundation and the Aga Khan Development Network — including the AKU — are working together in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and East Africa to improve health, advance economic development and create opportunities for women and girls. To date, the foundation has provided approximately $90 million in funding for research and other projects at the AKU in areas including maternal and child health, infectious diseases, malnutrition and Covid-19.

Aga Khan thanked Ms Gates and the Gates Foundation for their support to the AKU and noted their “crucial and catalytic role” in battling the pandemic, improving health globally and advancing gender equality.

Earlier, in his welcome address, AKU outgoing President Firoz Rasul told the graduates their university education had prepared them to make a profound difference in people’s lives. “You can be at the forefront in building the independent intellectual and scientific capacity that will enable Asia and Africa to tackle the biggest challenges facing them and the wider world,” he said.

Evidence that the AKU prepares its graduates for global leadership was furnished by its alumna Dr Anita Zaidi (from the university’s first batch of graduates 32 years ago), who currently leads the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality division as well as its Vaccine Development and Surveillance, and Enteric and Diarrheal Diseases programmes.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2021