The Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) is an American

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

headquartered in Westmont,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is one of the largest medical associations in the United States. APPNA is the largest medical organization of expatriate Pakistanis.

Founding

In 1976, Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, a Pakistani gastroenterologist based in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

, envisioned an idea of a professional organization of Pakistani physicians in the U.S and Canada that would provide a platform for social gatherings and a vehicle for educational and humanitarian projects in Pakistan. APPNA was registered in the state of Michigan as a non-profit charitable organization on 29 August 1978. The Internal Revenue Service granted it tax exempt status in 1983.

Past presidents

The list of APPNA's past presidents includes: # Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, 1979-80 (

King Edward Medical College King Edward Medical University (KEMU) () is a public medical university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Founded in 1860, the university is named after King Edward VII. Established by the British Raj, named as Lahore Medical School. In 186 ...

) # Dr. Kamil Muzaffar, 1980-81 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. M Ayub Omayya, 1981 and 1982 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, 1982-83 (

Khyber Medical College Khyber Medical College ( ur, , abbreviated as KMC) was established in 1954, is a public sector medical college located in Peshawar. Khyber Medical College is the oldest medical college of the province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is considered as one ...

) # Dr. Amanullah Khan, 1983-84 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. M. Aslam Malik, 1984-85 (

Nishtar Medical College Nishtar Medical University () (formerly Nishtar Medical College) is a public sector health sciences university located in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest medical institutions established after the creation of Pakistan. It off ...

) # Dr. Ikramullah Khan, 1985-86 (

Dow Medical College Dow Medical College is a public medical school located in the city of Karachi, Sindh. It was founded in 1945 and named after British civil servant Sir Hugh Dow, Governor of Sindh. In 2003, it became a constituent college of the newly formed Do ...

) # Dr. Hassan Imam Bukhari, 1986-97 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Nasim Ashraf, 1987-88 (Khyber Medical College) # Dr. Mohammad Murtaza Arain, 1988-89 (

Liaquat Medical College Liaquat may refer to: * Liaquat Ali Khan, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan * Liaquat National Memorial Library, located in Karachi, Pakistan *Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan, Pakistani politician * Liaquat–Nehru Pact, accord between India and Pakistan ...

) # Dr. Arif Ali Akbar Toor, 1989-90 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Arif Muslim, 1990-91 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Mushtaq A. Khan, 1991-92 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. Prevez Ali Shah, 1992-93 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. M. Khalid Riaz, 1993-94 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Waheed Akbar, 1994-95 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Mushtaq Sharif, 1996 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Shaukat H. Khan, 1997 (Nishtar Medical College) # Dr. Durdana Gilani, 1998 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Shabir H. Safdar, 1999 # Dr. M. Javed Akhtar, 2000 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Riaz Chaudhry, 2001 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Mohammad Suleman, 2002 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Raana Akbar, 2003 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Omar Taimoor Atiq, 2004 (Khyber Medical College) # Dr. Hussain G. Malik, 2005 # Dr. Abdul Rashid Piracha 2006 (Nishtar Medical College) # Dr. Nadeem A. Kazi, 2007 (

Sind Medical College Jinnah Sindh Medical University (), formerly known as ''Sindh Medical College'', is a medical university in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It gained university status in June 2012. History Jinnah Sindh Medical University, formerly known as Sindh Medi ...

) # Dr. Mahmood Alam, 2008 (

Allama Iqbal Medical College Allama Iqbal Medical College ( ur, ) is a public medical school in Lahore, widely regarded as one of the best medical institutions in Pakistan. Established in 1975, it is a public school of medicine, nursing and allied health sciences located ...

) # Dr. Syed Abdus Samad, 2009 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. Zeelaf B. Munir, 2010 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. Manzoor A. Tariq, 2011 (

Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Quaid e Azam Medical College ( ur, , or QAMC) is a medical college in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. History Quaid e Azam Medical College was founded on 2 December 1971 when its foundation stone was laid by the then Governor of Punjab, Lt Gen Attiqu ...

) # Dr. Saima Zafar, 2012 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. Javed Suleman, 2013 (Sind Medical College) # Dr. Asif M. Rehman, 2014 (Nishtar Medical College) # Dr. Mubasher E. Rana, 2015 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. M. Nasar Qureshi, 2016 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. Sajid Chaudhary, 2017 (Allama Iqbal Medical College) # Dr. Iqbal Zafar Hamid, 2018 (Sind Medical College) # Dr. Naseem A. Shekhani, 2019 (Dow Medical College) # Dr. Ghazala Naheed Usmani, 2020 (King Edward Medical College) # Dr. M. Rizwan Khalid, 2021 ( Aga Khan Medical College) # Dr. Haroon H. Durrani, 2022 (Nishtar Medical College)

Constituent alumni organizations

The following university alumni organizations are constituent members of APPNA: * Aga Khan University Alumni Association of North America (AKUAANA) * Allama Iqbal Medical College Alumni Association of North America (AIMCAANA) * Alumni Association of Physicians of Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences of North America (LUMHS) * Army Medical College Alumni Association of North America (AMCOLAANA) * Association of Physicians of Pakistani-descent of Caribbean Medical Schools (APPCMS) * Bolan Medical College Alumni Association of North America (BMCAANA) * Dental APPNA * Dow Graduates Association of North America (DOGANA) * Fatima Jinnah Medical College Alumni Association of North America (FJMCAANA) * Jinnah Sind Medical University Alumni Association of North America (JSMUAANA) * Khyber Medical College Alumni Association of North America (KMCAANA) * King Edward Medical College Alumni Association of North America (KEMCAANA) * Nishtar Medical College Alumni Association of North America (NANA) * North American Medical Alumni of APPNA (NAMA) * Punjab Medical College Alumni Association of North America (PMCAANA) * Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Alumni Association of North America (QMCAANA) * Rawalpindi Medical College Alumni Association of North America (RMCAANA)

Representation in Pakistan Government Health Task Force

In December 2021,

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

gave APPNA representation in his government's health task force for getting its input towards improving the healthcare system in the country.

Meetings

APPNA holds four meetings through the year. Its meetings present opportunities for continuing medical education as well as social get-togethers. The four meetings are: # Spring meeting # Annual summer convention # Fall meeting # Winter meeting

Activism

Amidst news of the exorbitantly high prices of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickl ...

vaccine set in Pakistan, APPNA wrote to the Prime Minister to express its concern. "A human tragedy must not be allowed to be used for profiteering," the APPNA association pleaded in the letter. The association recommended that the government should undertake the task of importing the vaccine itself, "on an emergent basis" as it is "best positioned to negotiate favorable rates with manufacturers." The group of doctors noted that although ideally the vaccine should be available to all free of cost, but if the country's financial situation did not allow it, it should be sold "at no more than cost". It also urged for subsidies to be provided to the poor regardless. In March 2022, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

acknowledged APPNA's efforts for COVID-19 relief. APPNA members offer free community healthcare through free clinics.

References

External links

APPNA websiteAPPNA
on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America Medical associations based in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Illinois Pakistani-American organizations Pakistani diaspora in Canada 1977 establishments in the United States Organizations established in 1977