M. Ayub Khan is the father of health statistics in Pakistan having conceived and executed the National Health Survey of Pakistan, 1990-94. While this large scale survey was made possible by many people, Colonel Ayub deserved the distinction of being the father of health statistics in the country for his vision that make this survey possible.
Obituary
Dr. Colonel M. Ayub Khan died on March 22, 2009 after a long illness. Dr. Khan was born on in the court of the colonial Punch state in Kashmir, his father, having served as royal veterinarian to the last Maharaja. His family migrated to Lahore in 19xx where he spent most of his adult life. He graduated from King Edward Medical College in and was commissioned in the Pakistan Army. Ayub was a Colonel in the Pakistan Army in which he served for many years. He was serving in Dhaka when the civil war broke out and was held as a prisoner of war for two years. Later he was posted in Saudi Arabia by the Pakistani military. He had a long distinguished career in food inspection in the Army. Nearing and after his military retirement he joined the Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC). While serving at the PMRC he played a major role conceptualizing, designing, and executing the National Health Survey of Pakistan (1990-94). The dream of a comprehensive health survey to describe the health of the people of Pakistan was something he has hoped and worked for over many years. Colonel Ayub wrote a book about the history of the National Health Survey of Pakistan (NHSP) in 1996. Recognition of his work came with a citation from the Surgeon General of the United States in 1998 for this contribution to NHSP. In later years the Colonel advise the Aga Khan University, Department of Community Health Science on issues of health program and policy. He lost his loving wife, Shama, in 19xx <date>. He is survived by adoring children and grandchildren. The Colonel was a great teacher and mentor. He will be remembered by his many public health colleagues who worked with him and learned from him. He is survived his loving family including six grand children and his loving son, Saquib Ayub (and his wife Sonia) and his daughter Natasha Malik (and her husband Amir).