On World Children’s Day, meet Dr Shela Hirani, Professor of Nursing at the University of Regina, Canada, whose work has helped improve the lives of mothers, infants and young children across the world. A breastfeeding advocate and global voice for maternal and child health, she leads initiatives that have supported more than 200,000 families – including those affected by migration, displacement and disaster.

Shela’s journey began in a classroom at the Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan School (SMS), Karachi.

Shela says that what stayed with her strongly was the school’s ethos. “We were encouraged to think critically, ask questions and appreciate diversity. The school emphasised ethics, community service and global citizenship, values that are the key pillars of my work with mothers and children.”

It was at SMS, Karachi where Shela found an early sense of direction. Regular career guidance sessions introduced students to different professions, and visiting speakers from the Aga Khan University (AKU) offered a glimpse into the world of health care. One session stood out.

“I still remember nurses coming in and talking about their work,” she says. “That was when I first learned what nursing is.”

Her school also organised visits to AKU, and one trip to the teaching hospital changed her life.

“It was not the traditional image of a nurse who only gives injections,” she recalls, seeing how the nurses were taking great care with their patients. “They had knowledge, and they were advocating for patients’ rights. They were saving lives.”

That experience guided her decision. “I wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to take care of my patients 24/7 – to understand them and help them through quality care.”

Finding her purpose

After graduating from SMS, Karachi in 1996, Shela began a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the Aga Khan University. Her training combined classroom learning and clinical experience in hospitals and remote communities, where she saw first-hand the challenges faced by mothers and newborns.

Her paediatric and neonatal rotations revealed the issue that would define her career.

“A lot of babies were on formula. Mothers did not always have clean water or supplies. Babies ended up with diarrhoea and dysentery, 15 or 20 times a day, and many were dying. If a mother can breastfeed, it is a lifesaver.”

After completing her degree in 2003, Shela worked as a paediatric and neonatal nurse at the AKU Hospital. She soon joined the AKU School of Nursing and Midwifery, where she taught both theory and clinical practice, contributing to family-centred nursing education.

As part of her Master's in Nursing and Advanced Diploma in Human Development, completed in 2010 at AKU, she researched the workplace support needs of employed mothers with young infants. This led to Pakistan’s first perceived breastfeeding support assessment tool, which is now used in over 20 countries. During her time as Assistant Professor, Shela helped develop Pakistan’s first national paediatric nursing curriculum, while returning to SMS, Karachi to conduct early childhood development workshops for elementary teachers.

Taking her skills home

After 12 years of teaching and research at AKU, Shela moved to Canada to pursue a PhD in Nursing at the University of Alberta. But she didn’t stay away for long.

“Though I could have done my research in Canada, I wanted to give back to my home country,” she says.

Her doctoral thesis took her to the mountainous, disaster-affected regions of northern Pakistan, where earthquakes and flooding had displaced families. “Mothers had been living for years in tents on mountaintops, with no washrooms, no clean water, no food,” she recalls. “When formula milk was mixed with dirty water, babies died of diarrhoea and dysentery.”

Her research documented the lived realities of those mothers – their barriers, resilience and urgent need for support. It also reinforced her commitment to advocacy, a lesson sparked by the nurses she met years ago on the school trip.

“Most of the people making policy were men. They did not know what women were really facing. Those mothers needed a voice.”

Shela’s findings underscored how humanitarian response must consider breastfeeding support, maternal nutrition, clean water and hygiene – lessons she continues to carry into her advocacy today. “People donate formula in good faith,” she says, “but if mothers have no clean water or bottles, it can be deadly.”

A global voice for mothers and children

Today, Shela is a Professor of Nursing at the University of Regina. She mentors students and leads two major initiatives: the Breastfeeding Advocacy Research Lab and the Voices of Migrant Families Advocacy Hub. Both focus on providing evidence-based breastfeeding information and elevating the experiences of families affected by disaster and displacement.

Her work continues to centre on the mothers and children she has always cared for most, especially refugee and migrant families arriving in Canada after war, displacement or natural disasters.

She encourages young people to be bold: “If you are a researcher, solve problems in society. If you are a teacher, empower your students. Be limitless in your thinking; do not let cultural or social barriers stop you. Be an advocate.”