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Chairman of the Board of the Trustees, members of the Board of Trustees, members of the Firashta Family and the Soneri Bank and welcome guests.

This is a singularly important occasion in the history of the Aga Khan University and I would like to share with you right at the beginning of these few comments, a very deep sense of happiness and elation at the way in which the School of Nursing at the Aga Khan University has progressed.

“A man who really cares for his patients will soon learn to ask for and appreciate the information of a nurse, who is at once a careful observer and a clear reporter.”

Florence Nightingale’s timeless advice to doctors is as true today as it was when her seminal work “Notes on Nursing” was first published.

Two centuries have now passed since the “lady with the lamp” came into this world to change the face of nursing. Her commitment helped transform nursing from a mostly untrained occupation to a highly skilled medical profession with important responsibilities.

KARACHI:

The government of Pakistan has designated 2019 as the year of nursing. Recognising their role in promoting universal healthcare and safeguarding women’s rights, the government is working to enhance the role and voices of nurses and midwives in making a health policy. These views were expressed by speakers at the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery (SONAM) at an event held on Friday in honour of International Midwives’ Day and International Nurses Day. The former is commemorated on May 5 and the latter on May 12 annually across the globe.

Nursing, primarily a women's profession in Pakistan, empowers women and improves their status in their communities. It provides positive role models for other women, strengthens their decision-making and problem-solving capabilities in the eyes of others, and promotes their personal, professional, and financial autonomy.

There are three professions in the developing world which are undervalued: the first is nursing, the second is education and the third is journalism; and yet all those professions are critical for the development of a quality civil society

Mr Chairman, Distinguished guests and friends