Engaging Future Public Health Leaders:
WHO–BMU’s MPH Student Interactive Dialogue Held
Engaging Future Public Health Leaders: WHO–BMU’s MPH Student Interactive Dialogue
Fostering Student Awareness, Partnership, and Global Health Leadership
05 November 2025: The Department of Public Health and Informatics, Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), organized an interactive session with Dr. Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed, WHO Representative to Bangladesh, and BMU’s MPH students at Milton Hall, BMU. The session focused on strengthening future public health leadership and identifying new avenues for collaboration between BMU and the World Health Organization (WHO).
The program began with a welcome speech by Prof. Dr. Md. Shahinul Alam, Vice Chancellor, BMU, who highlighted the ongoing contributions of BMU’s public health researchers to advancing the university’s academic and community health endeavors. He also provided a strategic vision for the future, emphasizing how BMU’s MPH students and public health professionals can emerge as leaders at national and international levels through evidence-based practice, research, and policy engagement.
In his keynote address, Dr. Ahmed Jamsheed Mohamed shared the historical evolution of the WHO, outlining its mission and mechanisms of action at both global and national levels. He emphasized that public health is a multi-sectoral discipline, engaging with diverse ministries and sectors to design, plan, and guide policies for public wellbeing, while political leaders execute those policies. Dr. Jamsheed encouraged students to go beyond classroom learning and actively engage with communities, understand local challenges, and contribute to real-world health solutions. He also elaborated on WHO’s ongoing initiatives in Bangladesh and highlighted opportunities for students to collaborate through internships, academic exchanges, and applied field research in partnership with WHO and BMU.
The interactive discussion, moderated by Dr. Farzana Islam and Dr. Md. Shahidul Haque of the Department of Public Health and Informatics, allowed students to share ideas and explore how their studies could align with national and global health priorities.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof. Dr. Md. Atiqul Haque, Dean of Preventive and Social Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Public Health and Informatics, BMU.
The session was also graced by Prof. M. Mostafa Zaman, Executive Editor of the BSMMU Journal, and Dr. Murad Sultan, National Professional Officer for Patient Safety & Blood Safety, alongside faculty members of the Department of Public Health and Informatics and participating MPH students.
The session concluded with a shared commitment to strengthen BMU’s public health capacity through education, leadership, and collaborative research—empowering BMU’s MPH students to become future public health leaders who will contribute effectively to national and global health initiatives.
