Sania Nishtar

Sania Nishtar SI FRCP (born 16 February 1963), is a Pakistani physician, cardiologist, senator, author and activist who was appointed CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance in 2024.

Nishtar previously served as Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with the status of Federal Minister, and chairperson Ehsaas Programme.

She was elected to the Senate of Pakistan in the 2021 Senate election from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Born in Peshawar, Nishtar went to medical school at Khyber Medical College and graduated top of her class in 1986.

Nishtar graduated from Khyber Medical College with her Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery in 1986 and was Best Graduate of the Year.

She holds a Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians and a PhD from King's College London.

She was inducted into the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Pakistan in 1991 after completing her residency at Khyber Teaching Hospital.

She joined the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences as a cardiologist in 1994 and worked with the institute until 2007.

She left the institute on sabbatical twice, first in 1996 to at the Guy's Hospital in London, and again in 1999 to pursue her Ph.D. in medicine from the King's College London, which she received in 2002.

In 1998, Nishtar founded Heartfile, an Islamabad-based health policy think tank.

After several years as a cardiologist at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Nishtar founded Heartfile in 1999, which has grown from a health information-focused NGO to a health policy think tank, focused on health systems issues.

She became a fellow of Royal College of Physicians in 2005.

In 2007, Nishtar founded Heartfile Health Financing, a program to protect poor patients from medical impoverishment.

The program is a 2008, 2012, and 2013 Commitment of the Clinton Global Initiative.

She also founded Pakistan's Health Policy Forum, a civil society policy platform for health experts that has garnered contributions from prominent global health advocates including Seth Berkley, Sir George Alleyne, Mark Dybul, and Naresh Trehan, in addition to many others.

Previously she served in the interim federal cabinet in 2013 overseeing public health, education and science.

Nishtar co-chaired WHO's High-Level Commission on Non-communicable diseases along with the Presidents of Uruguay, Finland and Sri Lanka.

She is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on the future of healthcare and co-chairs 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 International Advisory Board, and she is a member of the International Advisory Board on Global Health of the German Federal Government.

Previously, Nishtar served as Federal Minister in the Government of Pakistan of Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso during the 2013 caretaker government, in charge of Science and Technology, Education and Trainings and Information Technology and Telcom.

She also had responsibility as focal person for health.

During her term, Nishtar was instrumental in establishing Pakistan's Ministry of Health, which she had been advocating for.

At the conclusion of her term she published Handover Papers, She also refused pay and perks and left an unusual gift for government functionaries.

Her policies remained focused on promoting development; in the education sector linking academia with entrepreneurs, industry and the national priorities, and in the Ministry of IT by using the telecom sector for development.

During her term in office as minister, she prevailed upon the Prime Minister to reverse the decision to dismantle the Prime Minister's Polio cell, and saved the government from what could have been an e-voting embarrassment.

Since 2014, Nishtar has been a co-chair of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity and also serves on the board of United Nations University's Institute for Global Health.

In 2015, Nishtar was the Government of Pakistan's candidate to succeed António Guterres as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; the post eventually went to Filippo Grandi of Italy.

Nishtar later became Pakistan's candidate to succeed Margaret Chan as director-general of WHO.

In April 2016, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which has 57 member states and aims to serve as the collective voice for Muslims, "welcomed" Nishtar's candidacy.

Nishtar was a leading candidate for director-general of the World Health Organization, to be elected in May 2017.

She was amongst the shortlisted three nominees in the election held in January 2017, but was not successful in the final election held on 23 May 2017.

Nishtar's late father, Syed Hamid, was a much respected doctor hailing from a very well-reputed syed family.

She is the wife of Ghalib Nishtar, the grandson of Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, a leading figure in the Pakistan movement.

Nishtar was one of the two favorite candidates in the shortlisting election in January 2017, where she secured 28 out of 34 votes.

She qualified to be one of the three official nominees by WHO.

Her candidature received broad-based support from within Pakistan, from the government, civil society and women's groups.

In 2019, King's College London awarded her a doctorate in science, honoris causa.

In 2019, King's College London awarded her a doctorate in science, honoris causa.

In May 2019, Nishtar was appointed Special Assistant on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Nets for Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In this role, she is leading the roll-out of Ehsaas, a pioneering multisectoral poverty alleviation and welfare programme for Pakistan which encompasses over 130 policies.