Nafis Sadik (18 August 1929 – 14 August 2022) was a Pakistani physician, Special Adviser to the

UN Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

with additional responsibilities as Special Envoy for

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

in Asia, and former executive director of the

United Nations Population Fund The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is a United Nations System, UN agency aimed at improving reproductive health, reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies and protocols, incr ...

(UNFPA) from 1987 to 2000. She retired from the post in December 2000.

Early life and education

Nafis Sadik was born on 18 August 1929 in Jaunpur,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

as the daughter of Iffat Ara and Muhammad Shoaib, former

Finance Minister of Pakistan The Minister of Finance of Pakistan (Urdu: 'Wazīr-ē-Khazana') is a leading cabinet member who heads the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Pakistan. The Minister is responsible each year for presenting the federal government's budget to ...

. She studied medicine at and graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Dow Medical College in

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

, Pakistan. After graduating, she went to the USA to complete an internship in gynaecology and obstetrics at City Hospital in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland and finished her further education at the

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Career

She returned to Pakistan in 1954 with her husband, to become a civilian doctor in army hospitals. She worked until 1963 in women's and children's wards in

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...

hospitals. In 1964, Sadik was appointed head of the Health Section of the Government’s Planning Commission. Sadik joined the Pakistan Central Family Planning Council in 1966 as Director of Planning and Training, the Government agency charged with carrying out the national family planning programme. She was appointed Deputy Director-General in 1968 and Director-General in 1970.

United Nations

Sadik joined the UN Population Fund in 1971. Shortly after the sudden death of the UNFPA Executive Director, Rafael Salas, UN Secretary-General

Javier Pérez de Cuéllar Javier Felipe Ricardo Pérez de Cuéllar de la Guerra ( , ; 19 January 1920 – 4 March 2020) was a Peruvian diplomat and politician who served as the fifth secretary-general of the United Nations from 1982 to 1991. He later served as prime min ...

appointed her to succeed him, in 1987, thus becoming the first woman to head one of the United Nations' major voluntarily-funded programmes. Sadik consistently called attention to the importance of addressing the needs of women, and of involving women directly in making and carrying out development policy. This was particularly important for population policies and programmes in the

Third World The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the Southern Cone, NATO, Western European countries and oth ...

and developing countries, where her strategy for providing females with education and the tools to control their own fertility has influenced the global birthrate. In June 1990, the Secretary-General of the United Nations appointed Sadik Secretary-General of the

International Conference on Population and Development The United Nations coordinated an International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo, Egypt, on 5–13 September 1994. Its resulting Programme of Action is the steering document for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA ...

(ICPD), 1994.

Other activities

Sadik's contribution to improving the health of women and children in the global community brought her many international awards and honors. She was a member of the Board of Governors of the Foundation for Human Development, and a member of the South Asian Commission on the Asian Challenge. Sadik was the President of the

Society for International Development The Society for International Development (SID) was founded in Washington, D.C., United States, in 1957. SID has a network of individual and institutional members, local chapters and partner organisations, in more than 80 countries. It works with m ...

(SID) for the period 1994–1997. Nafis Sadik also was a member of Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America. After her retirement from the United Nations Population Fund, she served on several boards of directors and advisory panels of non-profit organizations and research institutions in the area of population control including on the Advisor Board for the

German Foundation for World Population DSW () is an international private non-profit foundation addressing Sexual & Reproductive Health (SRH) and population dynamics. DSW funds its project and advocacy work from private donations and the financial support of governments, foundations ...

. Sadik was an Emeritus Member of

Population Action International Population Action International (PAI) is an international, civil society organization that uses research and advocacy to improve global access to family planning and reproductive health care. Its mission is to "advance universal access to sexual ...

Personal life, death and legacy

Sadik married Azhar Sadik, a Pakistani army officer died earlier in 2011. Nafis Sadik died of congestive heart failure on 14 August 2022 in the United States, at the age of 92. Sadik's husband and a daughter predeceased her. She was survived by three daughters - Ambereen Dar, Wafa Hasan andGhazala Abediand a son, Omar Sadik. A major newspaper of Pakistan wrote in her obituary:

"Dr Nafis Sadik of Pakistan, a guiding force to the world in maternal and child health as well as family planning, passed away in New York on Sunday".

Awards

* (1995)

Prince Mahidol Award The Prince Mahidol Award () is an annual award for outstanding achievements in medicine and public health worldwide. The award is given by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, which was founded by the Thai Royal Family in 1992. Prince Mahidol ...

from the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation (Branch Public Health) * (2000) Margaret Sanger Award from the

Planned Parenthood Federation of America The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

* (2001) United Nations Population Award * (2002) World Citizenship Award from the

World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts The World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS ) is a global association that supports Girl Guides, female-oriented and female-only Guiding and Scouting organizations in 153 countries. It was established in the year 1928 in Parád, H ...

* Award from The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists * Award from the

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization in the United States, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (i ...

, United States * Award from

American Public Health Association The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a Washington, D.C.–based professional membership and advocacy organization for public health professionals in the United States. APHA is the largest professional organization of public health pr ...

, Washington D.C., U.S.

Publications

Nafis Sadik is widely published in the family planning and population control areas: * ''Population: The UNFPA Experience'' (New York University Press, 1984) * ''Population Policies and Programmes: Lessons Learned from Two Decades of Experience'' (New York University Press, 1991) * ''Making a Difference: Twenty-five Years of UNFPA Experience'' (Banson, London, United Kingdom, 1994)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadik, Nafis 1929 births 2022 deaths Pakistani officials of the United Nations Pakistani diplomats Muhajir people United Nations Population Fund Pakistani obstetricians Pakistani gynaecologists Civil servants from Karachi Pakistani women medical doctors Under-Secretaries-General of the United Nations Pakistani women's rights activists 20th-century Pakistani medical doctors 21st-century Pakistani medical doctors People from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh Indian emigrants to Pakistan