Nafis Sadik

Nafis Sadik is a Pakistani physician and diplomat who served as the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) from 1987 to 2000. She held roles as a Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General and as a Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Asia. Her work focused on maternal health, family planning, and the empowerment of women through education.

Early life and education

Nafis Sadik was born on 18 August 1929 in Jaunpur, British India. She was the daughter of Muhammad Shoaib, who served as the former Finance Minister of Pakistan, and Iffat Ara. She pursued her medical studies at Dow Medical College in Karachi, Pakistan, where she earned a Doctor of Medicine degree.

After her graduation, she traveled to the USA to complete an internship. She focused on gynaecology and obstetrics at City Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She later finished her further education at the Johns Hopkins University.

Career

She returned to Pakistan in 1954 alongside her husband. During this period, she worked as a civilian doctor within army hospitals. She remained in the women's and children's wards of the Pakistan Armed Forces hospitals until 1963. In 1964, Sadik transitioned into government administration when she was appointed head of the Health Section of the Government’s Planning Commission.

Her leadership expanded within the Pakistan Central Family Planning Council. She joined this agency in 1966 as the Director of Planning and Training. Following this role, she became Deputy Director-General in 1968 and eventually served as Director-General in 1970.

Sadik joined the UN Population Fund in 1971. After the sudden death of Executive Director Rafael Salas, UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar appointed her to succeed him in 1987. This appointment made her the first woman to lead one of the major voluntarily-funded programmes of the United Nations. She consistently advocated for the inclusion of women in development policy. Her strategies regarding female education and fertility control influenced global birthrates in developing countries.

In June 1990, the Secretary-General appointed her as the Secretary-General of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) for 1994. After she retired from the UNFPA in December 2000, she continued her professional involvement in various capacities. She served on the Advisor Board for the German Foundation for World Population and was an Emeritus Member of Population Action International.

She held several other leadership positions throughout her career. Sadik served as the President of the Society for International Development (SID) from 1994 to 1997. She also participated as a member of the Board of Governors of the Foundation for Human Development and the South Asian Commission on the Asian Challenge.

Personal life

She married Azhar Sadik, a Pakistani army officer, before his death in 2011. The couple had four children: three daughters named Ambereen Dar, Wafa Hasan, and Ghazala Abedi, as well as a son named Omar Sadik. A daughter also predeceased her.

Nafis Sadik died of congestive heart failure on 14 August 2022 in the United States. She was 92 years old at the time of her death. A major newspaper in Pakistan described her as a guiding force for maternal and child health.

Awards and recognition

Her contributions to global health earned her several prestigious honors. She received the Prince Mahidol Award in 1995 from the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation. In 2000, she was granted the Margaret Sanger Award by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

She received the United Nations Population Award in 2001. The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts presented her with the World Citizenship Award in 2002. Her recognition also included honors from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the National Wildlife Federation, and the American Public Health Association.