Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women

Description

The Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women (PUMHSW), located in Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad), was established in April 1974 as Peoples Medical College. It was founded under the vision of the late Prime Minister Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto with the specific goal of providing quality medical education exclusively to women. At the time of its inception, it was the first female-only medical college in Pakistan. The college initially admitted around 100 female students and operated from temporary premises, including sections of the District Council High School, several hostels, Latif Hall (an auditorium), and the Muslim Boarding House. For clinical training, students were attached to the District Hospital Nawabshah.

Over time, the institution grew both academically and infrastructurally. In 2004, postgraduate training programs were introduced, allowing the college to train thousands of specialists in various medical fields. A brief period of renaming occurred in 2006 when the college was referred to as Nawabshah Medical College, but this was soon reversed due to concerns about identity confusion with other institutions.

The major turning point came on December 21, 2009, when the Government of Sindh passed legislation upgrading the college to university status. The formal approval was granted by the Governor of Sindh on November 10, 2010, and the institution was officially recognized as the Peoples University of Medical & Health Sciences for Women. The university’s first Vice Chancellor assumed office on January 8, 2011, and by March of the same year, deans were appointed to lead the various academic faculties, including Basic & Allied Sciences, Medical & Allied Sciences, Surgery & Allied Sciences, and Community Health Sciences.

To support its growing academic and administrative needs, the university acquired nearly 200 acres of land located about 3.5 kilometers from the city outskirts of Nawabshah. This new campus has been developed into a comprehensive educational and residential facility. It houses multiple institutes, including those for physiotherapy, nursing, pharmaceutical sciences, and public health. The Peoples Institute of Technologists in Health (PITH) was also established, offering degree programs in intensive care technology, anesthesia, cardiovascular technology, and medical laboratory technology. In addition to academic buildings, the campus includes hostel facilities, faculty housing, administrative offices, a mosque, transport services, and an examination center.

From its modest beginnings as a small medical college for women, PUMHSW has evolved into a full-fledged medical university committed to empowering women through quality education and professional training in health sciences.