Batch of ’79
ONE plus one equals two. But in extraordinary situations, one plus one can produce infinite results. That is how it is with the Batch of 1979 of the Dow Medical College. Comprising 435 students at a time when Dow was the only medical college in Karachi and the city was torn by strife, which devastated all educational institutions, it was a wonder that the Batch of ’79 turned out to be what it is.
To the credit of all batches that passed out of the college, there has been a tradition of every class contributing something or the other — a labour ward, an operation theatre, etc. — to the hospital attached to the college. The ’79-ers did something more. They also contributed generously to the healthcare of people all over the country and made an impact. Since this batch included a number of illustrious names who won international recognition, they deserve mention. Who have benefited from their services? The poorest of the poor in Pakistan. The rich don’t need them, as they make a beeline for better private hospitals or foreign facilities at the first sign of an illness.
I met some of these distinguished professionals recently at a Pakistan Medical Association event. Take Dr Asif Hassan, who won the WellChild Best Doctor of the UK award for the paediatric transplant work he does in Newcastle. He had performed an 11-hour reconstructive surgery on a premature infant. The child is now a healthy lad of 14.
There has been a tradition of every class contributing something.
Dr Shamim Khan is a robotic surgeon and urologist who was honoured with an OBE and has set up SIUT’s robotic programme. Dr Yousuf Iftikhar, head of the department of surgery at the Royal Derby Infirmary, made a name for himself in Pakistan when his team helped with the relief work after the earthquake of 2005. He has set up a state-of-the-art hospital in Muzaffarabad. He was honoured with the JET Alumni’s Inspirer of the Year award for his services to his community.
Another doctor who deserves to be mentioned is Dr Nizam Damani, an MBE. He has set up the Institute of Infection Control at Koohi Goth and shares its research findings with the WHO. One could go on but space is limited and the Batch of ’79 is a treasure trove of talent.
One can ask how the ’79-ers have made such a collective impact and received recognition when other high achievers are not so well-known here. The fact is that those professionals who leave Pakistan are lost to the country if they are not anchored to a professional body locally. It is a pity that the Pakistan government has not kept up its consular connections with expatriates. It is proud of its ‘manpower export’ that fetched the country $30.3 billion in FY 2024. That is all. The Batch of ’79 got something more. At their silver jubilee in 2004, the idea of formalising their contacts in a Yahoo group came up. The mainstays in sustaining it were Dr Shoaib Subani and Dr Khalid Iqbal. They kept the 250 or so from the batch engaged. Every week, the POW (Personality of the Week) featured one ’79-er and his/her work. Dr Subani then proceeded to do a course in web design and set up a website consolidating the information collected by the Yahoo group. In 2019 followed a 600-page book on the ’79-ers.
This anchoring process has been enhanced by the presence of Dr Shershah Syed in the Batch of ’79. A versatile personality — he writes as effectively as he mends fistulas — Shershah has won numerous awards for his services in reproductive health. The most prestigious of them is from the Federation International of Gynaecology and Obstetrics.
When Shershah returned from the UK, having completed his post-graduate training, he joined the JPMC to specialise in test-tube babies. Within a few weeks, he changed his mind.
First, he learnt about DOA in daily meetings reviewing the previous day’s work. Shershah had never heard of a woman being brought ‘dead on arrival’. Abroad, he had been told that childbirth was a natural and safe process if correctly managed.
The second shock came when he passed by a ward emitting the stench of urine and faeces; he learnt about fistula and badly managed childbirth. Thereafter, came a three-month course in fistula repair and Shershah was set for his life’s mission: safe reproductive health for every woman to enable her to lead a life with dignity. He has opened a hospital in Koohi Goth to treat fistula patients. A training centre for midwives and nurses has brought hope to the lives of the poor.
With his inclusive personality and generosity in acknowledging the achievements of others, Shershah is the anchor that holds so many together. He uses his contacts to set up camps all over the country for fistula patients, for whom he is a blessing.
Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2024
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