A tribute to Dr. K.M.A. Aziz

We were deeply shocked at the sad demise of Dr KMA Aziz who was one of our most dedicated scientists and a longtime colleague. Dr Aziz died of cardiac arrest on 9 December 2002.  

Dr Aziz was born on 11 January 1939 in the district of Comilla. He received his Master's degree in Sociology from the University of Dhaka in 1961, MPhil in Rural Sociology from Rajshahi University in 1976, PhD in Anthropology and Sociology from Rajshahi University in 1980, and did a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky, USA, in 1984. He joined the Centre's predecessor organization' Pakistan-SEATO Cholera Research Laboratory (CRL)as a Sociologist in 1961 and became Head of the Field Surveillance Branch in 1968, Investigator in 1977, Associate Scientist of ICDDR,B in 1980, Anthropologist in 1983, Scientist in 1987, and Senior Scientist in 1992.

Following retirement at the end of 1997, he continued to serve the Centre as a consultant in anthropology, most recently in projects on water usage in villages, and nutrition behaviour in Dhaka slums. He served as a Research Specialist at BRAC from 1998 to 1999 and established an NGO called CADIS in 2000.

During his long and distinguished career, Dr Aziz was a teacher and mentor to both Bangladeshi and international scientists. Dr Aziz was a prolific author with 35 scientific articles published in international peer-reviewed journals and four books on kinship, life stages, beliefs and fertility, and management of diarrhoea at the community level.His most well-known book Kinship in Bangladesh is a classic ground-breaking work for sociologists in the field. The Centre, with deep sorrow, paid great tribute to Dr KMA Aziz in various ways. Many national and international scientists reminisced on their association with Dr Aziz and his anthropological works. Centre Director Prof David Sack and Mrs Jean Sack were on leave when Dr Aziz died. They sent messages of condolence to Dr Aziz's family and to the ICDDR,B family by electronic mail. Dr Roger Glass, currently a distinguished consultant in the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases of the National Center for Infectious Diseases at CDC-Atlanta, said in his message, KMA Aziz's skilful anthropological studies and simple explanations placed him among the best teachers of international scientists working in Bangladesh.