Shahbaz Ali

Department of Community Health Sciences, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan

ali.shahbaz@aku.edu

shahbaz_hyder@yahoo.com

Shahbaz Ali is a medical anthropologist and public health researcher with extensive experience in ethnographic and qualitative research in Pakistan. His research interests include culture, health and illness, maternal and newborn health, climate-related health risks, ageing, health inequalities, and inclusive eye care.

He holds a Bachelor of Science, Master of Science, and Master of Philosophy degrees in Anthropology. His MPhil research investigated indigenous perceptions and management strategies for asthma among elderly populations in Sindh, Pakistan. Additionally, he has participated in qualitative studies related to COVID-19, maternal health, infectious and non-communicable diseases, including asthma as a chronic respiratory ailment and trachoma as a neglected tropical eye disease and has authored articles and book chapters published in peer-reviewed journals specializing in public health and medical anthropology.

From 2021 to February 2025, Shahbaz led inclusive primary eye-care projects supported by CBM International, the Brien Holden Foundation, Sightsavers, and the Sindh Institute of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences’Prevention and Control of Blindness Programme. He also coordinated meetings of Pakistan’s National Committee for Eye Health. A national master trainer in Peek Capture and manual vision screening, he combines research, project management, capacity building, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement to improve healthcare access for underserved communities in Sindh.

Shahbaz currently serves as a Research Specialist in the Department of Community Health Sciences at Aga Khan University, Karachi. He contributes to an ethnographic study examining the intersections of climate-related risks, maternal nutritional health, and cultural practices in Sindh. The project is conducted in collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University.