UCA Advances Research on Climate, Health, and Injury Burden in Central Asia

The University of Central Asia (UCA) convened a series of landmark events in Bishkek, advancing regional collaboration on climate change, health, and the burden of injuries. In partnership with the Aga Khan University Trauma and Injury Research and Training Programme (AKU-TIRTP) in Pakistan, UCA delivered two intensive research workshops gathering 24 participants from 11 academic organisations across Kyrgyzstan (75% female, 25% male).

Despite language barriers, the highly interactive sessions equipped participants with the tools to analyse Kyrgyzstan’s Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data on injuries and to translate findings into scholarly publications. The first workshop, A Public Health Lens on Injuries, introduced participants to GBD datasets, focusing on data extraction, analysis, and interpretation. The second, Data to Draft (D2D), emphasised scientific writing and resulted in the co-authored paper “Burden and Trends of Injuries in Kyrgyzstan: Insights from the Global Burden of Disease Study”, which has been submitted to BMC Public Health for peer review.

Dr Uzma Rahim Khan, Activity Director at the Aga Khan University, highlighted the broader value of the initiative: “These workshops not only equip participants with the skills to generate evidence on injuries but also extend this capacity to a wide range of health outcomes. Importantly, the focus on publication ensures that this evidence reaches the wider scientific and policy community”.

UCA Rector, Professor Christopher Gerry, commended the initiative as a pioneering step in strengthening evidence-based health research in Kyrgyzstan and across the region.