Shakir was born on December 21, 1948, in Baghdad, Iraq. He began his medical career in Baghdad in 1971, moving to the United Kingdom in 1975 as a research fellow at Glasgow University before completing his neurology training in 1979 at the Institute of Neurological Sciences in Glasgow.
Work
World Federation of Neurology
Shakir was Secretary-Treasurer General of the World Federation of Neurology in 2007.[1] From 2014 to 2018, Shakir was president. His term in office is notable for his focus on regional organisations, supporting the establishment of the African Academy of Neurology in 2015,[2][3] and the Pan American Federation of Neurological Societies (PAFNS) in Latin America, in 2016.[4]
WHO, ICD-11 and stroke classification
The publication of ICD-7 in 1955 by the World Health Organization (WHO) classified cerebrovascular diseases as a disease of blood vessels and this included stroke.[5][6][7] Respective data on mortality and morbidity were counted as vascular diseases similar to any vessel disease. This classification was in contrast to ischaemia of the gut, kidneys or eyes, which are classified as diseases of the affected organ. As stroke was classified as part of the vascular disease section of the ICD, its effects were reported with those of cardiac diseases. As an example, in data published in the WHO European Health Report 2012, stroke is nowhere to be seen.[8] As a consequence, funding for neurological care was lost and governments were unaware of the scale of the problem.[9]
In 2007, the WHO began its review of ICD-10 and the WHO Topic Advisory Group for Neurology was formed.[10] Shakir was nominated in 2009 to chair the WHO Neurosciences Topic Advisory Group.[11]
Between 2009 and 2019, Shakir's chaired the neurology Topic Advisory Group working with experts and organisations on cerebrovascular diseases and collaborating closely with the World Stroke Organization[12][13][14] to produce the necessary scientific reasoning as to why cerebrovascular diseases should be moved to the nervous system disease chapter and obtain approval from the cardiology Topic Advisory Group. In a landmark decision[7] the move was approved by the WHO Division of Informatics and Statistics. The new ICD-11 classification of diseases formally lists Stroke as a neurological disorder and not a disorder of the circulatory system[15][16][17] and all Strokes are listed as a disease of the nervous system.
WHO and Neurology Atlas
Shakir was actively involved in the joint World Health Organization and World Federation of Neurology production of the Neurology Atlas.[18][19] The data highlighted the large inequalities in income and resources across world regions and revealed that the available resources for neurological disorders within most countries were insufficient. The Atlas reinforced the need for substantial increases in neurology services and training.[19]
