Going Zero Waste for a clean green Pakistan - Bridging the Gap

Webinar Introduction: This year, Pakistan hosted the World Environment Day in partnership with the United Nations Environment programme. In observance of this important day, as a multidisciplinary initiative, a webinar was conducted in NUMS, titled - Going Zero Waste for a clean green Pakistan - Bridging the Gap, on June 9, 2021.

The event was attended by more than 200 multigenerational and multidisciplinary students and faculty.

This webinar was conducted from the platform of Samaaj Khayal and was organized by the combined efforts of Departments of Health Professions Education (HPE), Social and Behavioral Sciences (DSBS), Department of Biological Sciences (DBS) and Public Health (PH), of National University of Medical Sciences.

Dr. Ayesha Rauf from NUMS Department of Health Professions Education (NDHPE) moderated the webinar.

The webinar started with the national anthem. Dr. Shazia opened the webinar by giving an overview of Samaaj Khayal. This was followed by moderator’s introduction to the layout of the webinar and welcome note to the panelists.

A short clip from the speech of worthy Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, given on World Environment Day 2021, was displayed to endorse Pakistan’s commitment towards restoration of the ecosystem. Video message of the honorable Vice Chancellor, NUMS, Lt. Gen. Syed Muhammad Imran Majeed (Retd), about the role of universities towards this initiative, was conveyed to the participants of the webinar. Concept of zero waste was introduced by Dr. Adeela Bashir, who is also the project lead.

The highlight of the event was the panel discussion, titled Inclusive Climate Action: Building Sustainable, & Resilient Communities moderated by Dr. Rehma Gilani and Dr. Aman Karim. The panelists included national and international experts:

Mr. Ali Hassan Habib (Managing Partner of HIMA, Verte)

 Dr. Ans Irfan (Director of Climate and Health, George Washington University)

 Dr. Kamran Iqbal (Consultant Public Private Partnership at World Bank)

 Mr. Salman Tariq (Co-founder and CEO at Davaam)

 Mr. Mohammed Omer Ghaznavi (Managing Director at Davaam)

 Dr. Mahwish Ali (Assistant Professor, NUMS).

Questions relevant to the panelists’ areas of expertise were posed and a healthy discourse was generated. The panelists presented their views and rich experiences related to citizen engagement, community mobilization, steps for mitigation and role of policy, Public private partnership in climate related health initiatives and providing sustainable solutions

The session ended with acknowledgments and concluding remarks by Dr. Qadir, from DSBS

NUMS IS COMMITTED TO THIS INITIATIVE AND PLEDGES TO GO ZERO-WASTE IN FULFILLMENT OF ITS ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY