On April 3, 2024, EMEA Advisor, Dr. Harris Eyre, Harry Z. Yan and Weiman Gao, Senior Fellow for Brain Health at the Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy, presented on ‘Advancing the Brain Economy’ at the members of the Brain and Mind Institute (BMI) then engaged in strategic discussions.
Aga Khan University is a pioneering institution of higher education that works to improve quality of life in the developing world and beyond. The University operates programmes in campuses in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the United Kingdom, and treats more than 2 million patients per year at seven hospitals and more than 350 medical centres.
The BMI, led by Dr Zul Merali, has the following aims: enhanced capacity for leadership and influence in addressing neuroscience and mental health issues in East Africa, Pakistan and South Asia; establishment of infrastructure to support (i) a hub for scholarship, exchange, and action on mental health issues, and (ii) educational, clinical, and community-based programs; new research that is relevant to the context of today’s youth in Africa and South Asia; programmatic offerings that address mental health related stigma and resiliency; development of new curricula integrating behavioral sciences and mental health for medical colleges and nursing education; including social sciences, humanities, human rights and behavioral sciences; advanced implementation of science-based programing in hospital and community clinics that translate new discoveries into prevention and treatment programs.
