Dr. Shazia Nadeem

Holder of Bachelors in Medicine and Surgery complemented with Masters in Public Health. I have 17 years plus experience of working in the Public Health Department in the Ministry of Public Health. Dealing with outbreaks of communicable diseases to the impeding pandemics has been my major area of work. With the SARS outbreak in 2004, start of the bird flu outbreaks in 2007, the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 in the recent past and currently dealing with MERS CoV & Ebola Virus Disease shows new challenges that the world has to deal with. Over the recent years leading the Surveillance & Outbreak Section has given me the privilege of enforcing Indicator Based Surveillance as well as Event Based Surveillance. 

I had the privilege of leading the public health response in the above mentioned public health emergencies in the State of Qatar. Development of emergency response plan for Communicable Diseases and coordinating the response of the health sector as well as the oil and gas sector has been an interesting challenge for me. Presentations at workshops, seminars, trainings, development of plans & protocols are a glimpse of the preparedness & response activities.  However, I will admit that with the supportive leadership and dedicated team I have enjoyed the emergency preparedness & response activities in DPH. Coordinating with WHO regional office and implementation of International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR 2005) with an all hazard approach (CBRN) has been an additional area of accomplishment. 

It’s not only the globalization that puts any country at risk of importation of a disease but the mass gatherings have their own peculiar risks and challenges. Keeping the country safe during the sporting events puts an additional strain on the existing public health resources. Managing the public health perspective during the sporting events in the past and preparing for the upcoming FIFA 2022 is another area that I am looking after.