Health Services Academy (HSA) was originally established in 1988 as an in-service training institute under the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan. It later evolved into an academic institution through the joint efforts of the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan and the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ). The first batch of students graduated in 1996, and eight cohorts have completed the programme. The Academy is now well-established and well on its way to achieving its institutional objectives.

From its founding in 1988, HSA has been striving to provide an academic and professional environment to its students. HSA offers its students a comprehensive, broad-based public health curriculum, and dynamic learning experiences with qualified faculty. HSA aspires to become a regional academic centre of excellence in public health training, policy formulation, and applied research that is nationally and internationally accredited.

HSA has recently revised its Master’s programme and is currently offering a state-of-the-art two-year Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) programme. The MSPH programme has been designed according to international standards, and HSA is working in collaboration with such institutions as the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (USA), the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health (USA), the Karolinska Institute (Sweden), Madidol University (Thailand), and the Gadja Mada University (Indonesia). The institution is affiliated with the Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, and the revised Master of Science in Public Health Programme was approved in July this year by the Academic Council at the Quaid-i-Azam University.

In addition, HSA has trained more than 1500 public health professionals through regular workshops and short courses. HSA has offered short courses in various public health fields such as Occupational Health, Applied Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Health Economics, Applied Nutrition, Health Policy and Planning, Hospital Management, and Quality Management.

It is expected that the Health Services Academy will continue along this path and achieve greater success and recognition as it grows, and that it will play a crucial role in improving the quality of health care delivery in Pakistan through human resource development and capacity building.