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.