The Division of Global Health at Karolinska Institutet Medical University in Stockholm focuses on health problems that are big in the world but small or non-existent in Sweden. Many know the division by its earlier acronym, IHCAR. It is part of the Department of Public Health Sciences. Since the start in 1984 it has developed extensive research in several fields within international health.
This multidisciplinary division pursues research and education in collaboration with researchers in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. Through the experience of collaboration with global partners and stakeholders, the division aims at being a resource centre at the Karolinska Institutet, recognized for its comprehension of global health issues. Extensive collaboration exists within Karolinska Institutet and the division is an active stakeholder in the Karolinska International Research and Training (KIRT) Program and the Centre for Global Health (KICGH). Read about The history of 60 years of KI research collaboration with Pakistan and India
IHCAR has practiced the successful sandwich PhD system for many years, that has resulted in a large number of theses by PhD candidates from among other third world countries, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. A special relationship exists between KI and Aga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi, Pakistan, with research and research training collaboration going on since 1992. Nine of the faculty at AKU Karachi currently have PhDs from KI, all have returned to Karachi and three of them hold interim chairs. Read Bo Lindblad’s 2005 report on collaboration between KI and Aga Khan University.
PhDs at Karolinska Institutet has this far been achieved by 9 AKU faculty in a ”sandwich system”. Seven of these are still full time faculty at AKU. They are:
1.  Zulfiqar  Bhutta, Chair Maternal and Child Health
2.  Junaid Razzak, Chair Medical Emergency
3.  Fauziah Rabbani, Chair Community Health Sciences
4.  Shahab Abid, Head Gastroenterology unit, Medicine
5.  Farid-ul-Hasnain, Community Health Sciences
6.  Tashfeen Ahmad, Orthopedic unit, Surgery
7.  Tazeen Said Ali, School of Nursing

Karolinska Institutet Medical University in Stockholm has been involved in collaboration projects with Pakistan, and especially withAga Khan University (AKU) in Karachi, since the 1950’s. Professor Emeritus Bo Lindblad at IHCAR has been , .instrumental in much of these projects. Read his report on half a century of Kl-AKU collaboration
In March 2018, Aga Khan University sent an official letter thanking the President, Members of the Faculty and Members of the Administration of Kl for their interest in, support of and contribution to the old and still ongoing collaboration with Karolinska Institutet). In the document, it is mentioned that the collaboration has created research leaders, research groups, besides good will for Sweden and Kl and increased the research capacity within low-income areas of South Asia and East Africa. The PhD theses have been defended at Kl and the papers in them published. A list of total publications from the teams involved is available at AKU and a summary of the projects with results is being prepared at AKU.