By Subhan Baloch
KARACHI: Karachi University and the Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning signed an MoU to promote mental health support and research on campus. The partnership will set up a modern centre to provide diagnosis, therapy and evidence-based interventions for adolescents with special needs.
The University of Karachi and the Ishrat Hussain Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen mental health services, research and training, in what officials described as a major step towards addressing the psychological and educational needs of young people.
The agreement was signed at the vice chancellor’s secretariat by KU vice chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi and PILL director of communication Dr Muhammad Akram Sultan. The collaboration will lead to the establishment of a Research Centre of Excellence designed to provide modern diagnostic, therapeutic and academic facilities.
Under the MoU, a diagnostic and clinical room will be used for assessments, one-to-one therapy sessions and evidence-based intervention programmes, enabling specialists to conduct detailed evaluations and guide adolescents with special needs. A research and innovation room will support data analysis, joint studies and practical training for interns, while two PhD and four MPhil projects will be completed jointly to improve research capacity and professional skills.
The partnership also includes regular conferences, seminars and professional sessions aimed at promoting the exchange of knowledge and practical experience in the field of mental health.
Dr Sultan said the institute, a non-profit organisation working for more than two decades, focused on generating local evidence to inform health and social care policy and improve wellbeing, particularly for people facing mental health difficulties. He described the collaboration as a significant step towards comprehensive and long-term support for teenagers and young people with special needs.
Prof Iraqi said mental health continued to be widely ignored in society because of stigma, warning that delays in seeking professional treatment often resulted in serious consequences. He stressed the need for timely diagnosis and expert care.
Senior academics and health professionals, including KU registrar Prof Dr Imran Ahmed Siddiqui and PILL’s director of public mental health Dr Shaista Ali Siddiqui, attended the ceremony.
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