Sufi Shehzad Akbar is a passionate social activist and rural development advocate with a Master’s degree (MSc) in Gender Studies. He has worked extensively at the grassroots level, particularly in rural communities, where he successfully led initiatives focused on clean drinking water supply and sanitation infrastructure. His work earned him the Best CBO Award (Sahiwal Division) in 2012 by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) in collaboration with Punjab Government’s PHED and HUD departments.
A strong proponent of gender equality and women’s health, Sufi Shehzad has consistently achieved 100% immunization targets under the Polio and EPI programs in his Union Council over the last 15 years. He has also actively supported farmers by advocating for modern agricultural technologies and quality seeds to increase productivity.
His dedication to youth empowerment is evident through his key role in establishing three community playgrounds through self-help initiatives. He also developed a volunteer-based village watch system to curb theft and robbery.Sufi Shehzad has played a significant role in setting up handicraft schools for women and girls as well as a computer academy to promote digital skills. To protect youth from drug abuse, he regularly organizes awareness seminars and mental health medical camps in rural areas.