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Pakistan Digital Health Day

NIC Karachi, Novartis and PDHI join hands to celebrate Pakistan Digital Health Day

Karachi (August 26, 2019): Novartis Pharmaceutical, in collaboration with Pakistan Digital Health Initiative (PDHI) and National Incubation Center (NIC) Karachi, organized Pakistan Digital Health Day here in Karachi at the National Incubation Center Karachi . The event was organized in an effort to leverage digital initiatives that can extend people’s lives and change the healthcare ecosystem of Pakistan.

The event comprised of talks by featured speakers and panel discussions with personalities belonging to pharmaceutical, healthcare and digital backgrounds. The highlight of the event was presentations by health based tech startups who were featured at the event and got an opportunity to share their business vision. Number of country’s top startups were identified who are partnering and adding value towards future of Pakistan’s digital health patient and out-patient care segments.

In his welcome note, Sufyan Usmani, Head of Commercial & Communication, Novartis, shared the objectives of the digital initiatives and the collaboration with health based tech startups and companies. He also highlighted the contribution of Novartis as one of the top healthcare organizations in Pakistan.

Dr. Imran Rasheed, CEO, Novartis, while sharing his views said, “Digitalization is the future of Novartis and in that journey we believe that we cannot do everything alone. That is why we believe that we need to work with the right minded people, vendors and especially the new breed of startups that can help us not only to achieve our vision by taking bold steps and partnerships, but also make the environment we work in a better place to live in. Novartis being a digitally forward company promotes such initiatives as it’s completely in line with our global commitment of providing advanced patient care.” He further added, “We will also be launching the Pakistan Digital Health Initiative (PDHI) today which is a for-profit entity helping the government to form policies and solutions for digital health.”

While sharing his views on digital health ecosystem in Pakistan, Dr. Zakiuddin Ahmed, said, “Studies have shown that around the world healthcare technology will exceed the market size of $600 billion by 2021. Global healthcare systems are embracing new technologies and undergoing massive transformation, however, Pakistan has yet to catch up. Digital technology enables access of healthcare easier in developing economies such as Pakistan, where a major chunk of population resides in far-flung areas. Therefore, it is essential that we make the most of digital healthcare technologies to address key medical needs of the populace.”

Dr. Kamran Iqbal, Head of Initiatives, PDHI, said, “We are pleased to launch Pakistan Digital Health Initiative today as we strongly believe that academia, industry and gGovernment coalition for digital health innovation and enterprise is extremely important. We should all come together to formulate and practice collective action approach where all the stakeholders are playing their part in enhancing healthcare ecosystem through digital means. He further added, “” Pakistan Digital Health Initiative (PDHI), as a completely independent entity acts as a convening platform to will bring government, private sector academia to form policies and solutions for digital health.”

Shahjahan Chaudhary, Director, NIC Karachi, while talking about digital healthcare innovation at NIC Karachi, said, “Entrepreneurship has always been the core of NIC Karachi , and bringing healthcare in this area is a step ahead. We are committed to improving the healthcare and technological content of life in Pakistan. It is only when we have synchronized our efforts, will we be able to combat the rising health crisis in the country. These startups are playing a major role in this regard, and NIC Karachi being a framework which brings them all together, is fully committed and onboard to promote this digital health initiative.”

Dr. Asad Mian, Director, Critical Creative Innovative Thinking (CCIT) at the Aga Khan University was also present at the occasion and shared his views from a hospital’s perspective on how innovation is working towards enhancing provision of digital healthcare and improve patient care. “We believe that it’s a step into the future where we will bring healthcare and technology under one umbrella and perhaps in the near future it will change the way we look at the two areas” he said.

Members from the public policy, government officials, corporate sector, health and academia attended the event to discuss challenges being faced by Pakistan in healthcare sector and how technology can be utilized to overcome those challenges.

About Novartis

Novartis International AG is a Swiss multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland. Novartis purpose is to reimagine medicine to improve and extend people’s lives. We use innovative science and technology to address some of society’s most challenging healthcare issues. We discover and develop breakthrough treatments and find new ways to deliver them to as many people as possible. We also aim to reward those who invest their money, time and ideas in our company.

شہداء کی سرزمین

A must read article about the current debate on ‘Shahadat’.

شہداء کی سرزمین.

Another great initiative by KFC Pakistan

Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves. Blessed are those who bless others.

In life, small initiatives make big difference.

KFC Pakistan opens its 6th Special Restaurant run by Speech & Hearing impaired staff at Khayaban-e-Rahat.

This is another great initiative by KFC Pakistan.

The management is very thankful to all its customers for the support and patronage.

Want to bring change? This is an small step.

A worth reading peace of write up by Progressive Pakistan.

Think positive and we can surely bring change.

Djuice Apportunity-2012 “App Mein Kitna Hai Dum”

It was April 1st, yes April 1st, the day when every second person tries to fool someone around…but Djuice Pakistan made this day a memorable one and announced the launch of Apportunity-2012, “App Mein Kitna Hai Dum”, a competition for the Pakistani students and software developers to create mobile phone applications (apps). The aim is to promote app development in Pakistan on platforms such as Apple IOS, Google Android and Nokia’s Symbian among others.

The launch of the competition was announced at a bloggers meetup in Karachi, which was attended by representatives from Telenor Pakistan and Djuice including Ahmed Nadeem Pasha, Telenor Pakistan’s Regional Director South-1 region. Nokia’s Rabia Nizami, Head of Ecosystem Developer Experience in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran; and Google Pakistan’s Badar Khushnud.

A large number of bloggers, students and apps developers were also present at the launching ceremony.

Usman Javaid, Director Marketing Djuice & Telenor Pakistan in a message at the launch said, “Djuice Apportunity, which is now in its 2nd year, is fast becoming the platform of choice for amateur Pakistani app developers to exhibit their talent.” He also said that we hope to continue providing opportunities to the talented youth of Pakistan to enable them to excel in their fields.

Last year, 460 apps were registered by developers in 63 cities. This year Djuice Apportunity team in partnership with Nokia, Google and Qualcomm will conduct app development workshops in 60 colleges and universities in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

Prizes for the winning developers include Laptops, Smartphones and free air-time. Participating universities with the most apps developed and the highest number of apps downloaded will be able to win Djuice Mobile Labs set up with Apple hardware, shields and gold medals for their app developers who will also get preferred internships at Djuice/Telenor Pakistan offices.
Apps will be published by Djuice on global websites such as Apple’s App Store, Google Play and Nokia Store from where they can be downloaded by anyone, anywhere in the world.

App developers can register for the contest “App Mein Kitna Hai Dum” through the Djuice website http://www.djuice.com.pk/apportunity or through their mobile phones on m.djuice.com.pk

About Djuice
Djuice is Telenor’s mobile phone plan brand for youth and is available in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Hungary, Montenegro, Norway, Sweden and Ukraine. It is the world’s No.1 mobile youth brand. Djuice Pakistan is the first in the industry to recognize the potential in the youth by providing them a platform to showcase their talent to the world.

Help Us

Please Help Us! The below charity account has been set up to collect funds for the release of the 23 crew members taken hostage.

Bank Name: NIB BANK LTD.
Branch Name: UNIVERSITY ROAD BRANCH, KARACHI, PAKISTAN
Account Name: Shahnaz Jawaid & Neelam Mujtaba
Account No. (PKR): 10052-10653622
Account No. (USD): 10052-10653789
Account No. (GBP) :10052-10653808
Swift Code: NIBPPKKA

*You will not be charged for transferring the donation by NIB Bank.*

You may contact us at savemvalbedo@gmail.com for any questions or comments.

Help Us.

People Writing & Talking About – The One Rupee Project (TORP) – 2

In continuation to my posts about “The One Rupee Project”, I am delighted to reproduce hereunder another post written by Mrs. Oana Ali who also graced the Launching ceremony by her presence. We are highly grateful for her kind contribution and support.

Here it goes:

My Journey to Pakistan Part 10: The One Rupee Project

On Sunday, March 24th, I had the privilege of meeting some great people and find out more about their commitment in making Pakistan a better place through a new project called The One Rupee Project.

It was presented as a project of the community for the community. Anyone can join in and lend a helping hand and through the power of the many, offer education to the people who can’t afford it and reach the goal of making everyone in Pakistan self-sustainable.
What I love most about this project is that anyone who wants to help can actually do it by joining the One Rupee Project. You don’t have to be rich, you only need to care. You can contribute with as little as you can afford (1 rupee is the equivalent of USD 1 cent), but for a country with over 170 million people, 1+1 could make millions. If one quarter of the population contributed with 1 rupee per day, that would make 42 million rupees per day and would pay for one full year of studies for thousands of Pakistanis. It may seem difficult, but it is not impossible. With the support from media and few corporations, this project can shape a new future for a country who needs it so desperately and who is struggling to make a change.
I will keep my eyes on the people behind the One Rupee Project (Abdul Hameed Kath, Sarfaraz M Khan and Sarosh Waiz) as they have many other ideas worth fighting for and they have the energy and determination to see them come to life.

Conclusions of the day:
There are people in this country who studied at the most prestigious universities from UK, US and elsewhere and who came back to help their homeland make a turn for a better future
People with normal jobs, businesses, families take time to think about the country’s welfare instead of sitting back and enjoying their own success.

Posted by Oana Ali at 10:46 AM

Source: My Journey to Pakistan Part 10: The One Rupee Project

People Writing & Talking About – The One Rupee Project (TORP)

The 24th March, 2012, a day which was long awaited and we all the teammates were quite tensed until the official launch of our project called “The One Rupee Project – TORP”, a project to make “Khudmukhtaar Pakistan” finally took place.

The event was held at T2F with a great support of all our friends, colleagues, family members, supporters and followers. Our special thanks goes to Radio 1 FM91, for their support in organizing the Launch meetup. We’re highly indebted to PeaceNiche (T2F) for their support for the cause of making Pakistan self-sustainable. We are also grateful to Djuice Pakistan who became the 1st Corporate supporter of TORP.

Alhamdulillah, by the grace of Almighty Allah, the event went successful and the entire team of TORP was overwhelmed by the phenomenal response from the participants.

My purpose of posting this blog is just to let people of Pakistan know what people are talking about this project. Hence, here I will be reproducing the testimonials, comments and feedback from all our supporters, members, well wishers and off course the critics.

Below is a worth mentioning write up by Mr. Ali Rahman about the Launch event. Here it goes:

The name, “One Rupee Project”, being quite appealing, made it simply irresistible as I came across it initially on Dr. Awab Alvi’s facebook page and twitter. The project, from whatever was shared of it initially, seemed to be a very simple initiative and was able to capture my attention. One Rupee?, I thought to myself, and thought how it is not a problem for many others. An almost immediate virtual calculator was turned on and I concluded within myself how easily this One Rupee can be millions and billions.
The desire to learn more about the project kicked in and I got to the initiators of the “One Rupee Project”. The Tremendous Trio as I would like to refer to them, Sarfaraz Khan, Abdul Hameed Kath and Sarosh Waiz. Initial contact was established with Mr. Sarfaraz Khan through twitter which got on to personal email correspondence. At this time, I must extend my gratitude towards his humble replies to my incessant questioning. The more I communicated, the more I thought, how doable, how easy, how simple, yet how magnificent this can be.
I then learnt about the launch event which took place a little while back (March 24, 2012 1600 hrs) at T2F (The Second Floor), DHA Phase 2 Extension, Karachi. I, along with my brother and a friend, made it a point that we all be present at the event to gather as much information as possible in order to be able to tell more and more people about it. The event started quite aptly started with Mehdi Maloof’s 1947 which set the much desired focus and direction towards what the “One Rupee Project” aims to achieve. A detailed presentation on the overall concept was conducted by Sarosh Waiz, a young man whose passion about the project was evident even when he was silent.
In a nutshell, the project aims at raising funds and channelizing these funds towards the areas which, otherwise may be state responsibility. A few areas highlighted include education, vocational training, poverty alleviation, all this to an eventual self sustaining, self relying nation at an individual level. From what I understood, the main objective of the program is capacity building which can be related to an old adage “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. This project certainly aims at “teaching people how to fish”.
It was heart-warming to learn the pledges already made by Dr. Awab (Awab Dental Clinic) and a few others. From the perspective of a common man, I salute FM 91 and Djuice for recognizing the potential of this project and sponsoring the launch event. Presence of Faisal Kapadia (award winner Azmeaalishan 2012 for his selfless services) was also much more than pleasant.
What this means to me? Well the answer is very simple. I have spent many hours discussing issues with my brother, my wife, my friends on what or how wrong things are in my part of the world and in our dear Pakistan. Being a banker by profession, somehow, as much as I desired, it was always difficult to come together and do something concrete, to add value, or to do something about all the problems and issues that I spend hours, just discussing. “One Rupee Project” has given me a very easy solution. From now on, I don’t have to spend time complaining or discussing the issues. I have found a forum which I can be a part of by paying just “One Rupee” a day and be a part of the much needed change. I take it as a responsibility to talk about this initiative to people, to spread the word, to make sure that people become a part of it.
The project is in a nascent stage at this time. However, from the charge and passion which was witnessed in the hall of T2F today, it can be safely said that this humble beginning can and will end up in pure magnificence. It will provide that much needed impetus needed for overall amelioration. The reasons why I have such strong belief in this project are: 1) In that hall at T2F, I met with Pakistanis, not Sindhis, Punjabis, Mohajirs, Balochis or Pakhtoons, just Pakistanis. 2) It is of utmost convenience to be a part of this at just “One Rupee” per day. Therefore, I expect it, hope and pray for it to grow to monumental levels. Anyone and everyone can and should be a part of this.
Undoubtedly, a great beginning! All the best to the “One Rupee project”.
Hasti ke is saraab mein, raat ki raat bas rahi
Subh e adam hua numoon, paun utha jo ho so ho
Let us all make this happen, because together we can and we will!
Ali Rahman
Email: ali.sher.rahman@gmail.com
Twitter: @Baahirezaman
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ali.sher.rahman

A letter to the editor Time Magazine – By Mr. Tony Lazaro

Dear Followers,

This is in continuation to my previous post “A disturbing article in Time magazine – “Karachi is doomed. Karachi is indestructible”.

I am pleased to reproduce a letter to the Editor, Time Magazine written by Mr. Tony Lazaro who is the Managing Director of Rising Stars Management Group after his kind permission, for that I am very thankful to him.

This letter has not been published by Time Magazine so far (I didn’t find it in its issue of 30-Jan-12), but I found it worthy of posting on to my blog while thinking that we must show the world the positive side of Karachi as well as our country, Pakistan, because unfortunately, every media be it foreign or local is trying to bully us and showing only negativity about Pakistan or maybe they have got only one eye that sees negativity all around but nothing else.

I am reproducing below the letter with a request to you all to please send your comments and feedback, thanks:

The Editor, Time Magazine
Dear Editor,

I recently returned from a charitable trip to Pakistan, whereby I visited both Karachi and Islamabad. I spoke with several universities, key businesses, prominent business leaders and several religious people from all generations….

On the day I returned to the office, someone had placed your magazine (January 16, 2012), on my desk. I read with interest your article on Karachi and the city in doom. For a person to have just returned from the very same place that your magazine described was somewhat bizarre, so I read with great detail your writer (Andrew Marshall’s) account.

Let me begin by saying that I often flick through your magazine and find the articles of great interest, but on this particular day and this particular article, I found certain comments to be both one sided and indeed very negative. I say that because I saw a different Pakistan to what was portrayed in your article. I do not and will not comment on the political or religious problems that the country faces, but I will go so far as to say that not everything is as bad as the image that your magazine paints.

Sure there are deaths in the cities. Please show me a city in the world, that is free from political fighting and unrest.

Sure there are differences in the political party opinions. Please show me a country in the world where the political parties agree.

Sure the innocent are suffering. Please show me a country in the world where wealth and power is equal and the innocent don’t suffer.

Sure corruption is in Pakistan. Please show me a country in the world that is corruption free.

My list could go on, but my point is that Pakistan does have problems…but so does every other country in the world in some way or another. However, in the case of ALL other nations, there are often good things to report and the media goes out of its way to promote these good things across the globe, whenever possible. The ridiculous amount of shootings in the USA are balanced off by the success of Google, Microsoft and Apple. The financial dilemmas of Greece are lost in the marketing of the Greek Islands as a holiday destination of choice. The child slave industry of India, is brushed under the carpet in favour of the nation’s growth in the global software boom. What I am trying to say, is that someone needs to look further into Pakistan and see that there are millions of great stories to write about, which would portray the country in a different light, to that what is being portrayed by your article.

When I was in Pakistan, I visited a towel manufacturing company (Alkaram Towels). They produced some $60million in export in 2011 and are aiming at $85million in 2012. A substantial increase in sales…in a recession I would remind you. The company was started by the current Chairman, Mr. Mehtab Chawla, at the tender age of nine, after his father passed away. Today the very man employs 3000 staff. Now that’s a story.

I visited universities of NED, Hamdard, Karachi, Szabist and NUST. The students are unbelievably intelligent. They spend their spare time developing APPS for android and apple. They are involved in cutting edge technology and no one in the world knows this. Why not send a reporter to Pakistan to look into this. Why not research good things in this nation, rather than just the bad things. At NUST (National Institution for Science and Technology – Islamabad)) there were 38,000 applications for medicine. There are only 83 seats for the medicine course on offer. The competition is unbelievable. In short it pushes the best to be even better. But the world doesn’t know this. Why ? Because no one wants to report on it, or no one knows about it…or both !!

Please do not get me wrong. I understand that news is news, but it is high time that the western world stopped promoting these terrorists and political wars in Pakistan and started to write something that would help the nation. Something positive. If we really care about global partnerships and economic growth, then I suggest we try and give Pakistan a helping hand. There are 180 million people in Pakistan, 65% are under the age of 25. The youth of Pakistan is its strength.. it is like a sleeping giant. If you think that India is a booming nation. I suggest you stop a second and look at Pakistan. Given a little help from the western world, Pakistan can become a dominant economy. She doesn’t want aid and she doesn’t need money… she just wants the chance to be seen in a different light. I believe we have a fundamental obligation to assist. The only question is, who will reach out first.

Warmest regards,

Tony Lazaro
Managing Director
Rising Stars Management Group
Tel: 02 8824 7000
Fax: 02 8824 7766
http://www.risingstars.com.au