Dr. Sania Nishtar, SI, FRCP, PhD, is an internationally acclaimed Pakistani physician and public health expert.
Dr. Nishtar is the CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. She previously co-chaired WHO’s High-Level Commission on Non-Communicable Diseases along with the presidents of Uruguay, Finland and Sri-Lanka. She also co-chairs the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the future of healthcare and the U.S National Academy of Sciences’ global study on the quality of healthcare in low- and middle-income countries. In addition, she also chairs the United Nations International Institute for Global Health’s advisory committee.
Dr. Nishtar is the founder and president of the NGO Heartfile in Pakistan and has previously served as a federal minister in the Pakistan government in 2013. She was Pakistan’s nominee for director-general of the World Health Organization in 2017 and was in the final shortlist of three. Earlier she was also founding chair of the UN Secretary General’s Independent Accountability Panel for Women’s and Children’s Health and chaired WHO’s Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity. She has received many international awards for her work and is widely published.
Dr. Nishtar graduated from Khyber Medical University and was the top graduate in 1986. She is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and holds a PhD from Kings College London.
