10/05/2026
It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of the founding chair of Paediatrics & Child Health at AKU, Dr. A. Majid Molla, one of the giants of global public health, at the age of ~84.
If you grew up in South Asia, or know someone who survived a bout of severe diarrhea or cholera, there is a chance his work saved a life close to you.
Dr. Molla spent his career at ICDDR,B in Dhaka asking a simple question: how do you stop a child from dying of diarrhea when there is no hospital, no IV drip, and no pharmacy nearby? His answer was rice. Working through the early 1980s, he demonstrated that oral rehydration solution made from rice powder worked better than the standard glucose formula — and rice was already in every home.
His 1985 paper in the WHO Bulletin and his 1989 paper in The Lancet became cornerstones of global child health. He later served as Chairman of Pediatrics at Kuwait University.
The Lancet once called oral rehydration therapy "the most important medical advance of the century."
His daughter Nasreen sent this note:
"He was gentle, humble, thoughtful, and endlessly devoted to his family. He taught us not only through his accomplishments, but through the way he lived his life — with dignity, compassion, discipline, faith, and service to others. He listened carefully, spoke kindly, and carried himself with humility no matter how great his achievements. His patients, students, colleagues, friends, and family all experienced the same warmth and generosity of spirit.
He was also wonderfully jovial, with a warm sense of humor and a lightness that made people feel at ease in his presence. Even in the most demanding moments of his professional life, he carried kindness, grace, and quiet joy. In the last few years, he suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, a difficult journey for him and for all of us who loved him. Yet through it all, his humanity, gentleness, and loving spirit remained deeply felt by our family.
As his daughter, I have always stood in awe of the life he lived and the quiet strength and perseverance with which he lived it. His legacy is not only in the millions of lives touched through medicine and public health, but also in the values he instilled in those who loved him.
We will miss him beyond words, but we are deeply grateful for the extraordinary life he lived and the love he gave so freely.
Please keep my mother, our family, his friends, colleagues, students, and all who loved him in your prayers during this difficult time.
May Allah grant him the highest place in Jannah, expand his grave with light and mercy, and allow his legacy of healing and compassion to continue through all those he inspired."
𝘐𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘪 𝘸𝘢 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘩𝘪 𝘳𝘢𝘫𝘪'𝘶𝘯.
🔗 His key papers:
WHO Bulletin 1985: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3910298/
The Lancet 1989: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2569608/
