perspective-health

The Age Of Consent And The Borders Of Belief

ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025 marks a pivotal step toward a safer, progressive Pakistan KARACHI. Child rights organisations and advocates, along with concerned citizens, have warmly welcomed the passage of recent legislation on child marriages, describing it as a landmark step toward protecting the rights and well-being of children. “The passage of the ICT Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2025…

THE SCREEN-TIME TRAP

It’s a common scenario. A parent wants to do some chores or wants some free time for his or her self and the child may be causing disruptions or being clingy. Finding no other way to distract the child, the parent gives his/her smartphone to the child to keep them…

Prevention is Cheaper

Each year, climate-induced disasters cost Pakistan billions of dollars and push millions…

Glaucoma for Children

A nice year old Hajra visited the paediatric ophthalmology department at our…

Lingering Threat of Polio

The recently concluded nationwide anti-polio campaign is being called a resounding success by those directly involved in the vaccination drive. The National Emergency Operations Center reports that over 44.7 million children under five received the vaccine, a figure just shy of the 45 million target, representing over 99% coverage. A…

HIV Horror

HIV/AIDS is rapidly becoming one of Pakistan’s most serious healthcare concerns. According to the WHO, new infections have risen by 200 per cent over the last 15 years – from 16,000 in 2010 to 48,000 in 2024. The WHO also estimates that 350 000 people are living with HIV in…

In Unsafe Hands

AN HIV outbreak among children should have been a turning point for Taunsa’s main public hospital. Instead, an investigation by the BBC suggests that little has changed. Undercover footage from the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, filmed about eight months after the government’s crackdown in March 2025, shows syringes being reused, injections administered through clothing, and unqualified…

Polio Security

Yesterday, the government initiated a nationwide polio vaccination campaign, aiming to reach over 45 million children under the age of five. Such drives are meant to signal resolve, yet this one has begun under the shadow of violence, with the martyrdom of a police officer in Hangu, K-P, exposing once…

Between Play and Pixels: Children Growing up in Modern Times

A digital transformation has been introduced to the quiet, bustling homes everywhere, replacing the sounds of children playing on the streets. If you visit a typical household today, it is likely to observe a child bent over a phone with headphones in, completely lost in a digital world. At times,…

Half of Pakistan’s Children Suffer from Anaemia

More than half of Pakistan’s children suffer from anaemia, while vitamin A and D deficiencies are common among women and adolescent girls. These deficiencies weaken immunity, impair learning and raise health costs across communities. Pakistan loses nearly $17 billion each year in productivity and healthcare costs linked to these preventable…

Limiting Screen Time

CHILDREN need education, physical activity, family and relaxation as well as adequate time for sleep (around nine to 12 hours depending on their age). This has become harder to manage as screen time has been increasing a lot in recent decades. A typical day for me —before the era of…

Ending TB

WORLD Tuberculosis Day is meant to remind governments that one of humanity’s oldest diseases remains among its deadliest. Despite decades of medical progress, TB continues to infect millions each year. The WHO’s Global Tuberculosis Report 2025 estimates that 10.7m people developed TB in 2024and about 1.23m died, making it the…

Polio Relief?

Years of hard work and relentless vaccination campaigns have finally brought Pakistan to a point where it can taste optimism. According to news reports, Data from Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Programme shows that the majority of the environmental samples collected during the first two months of 2026 have tested negative for…

Reproductive Health Awareness

Parliament has done something this week that once seemed nearly impossible in Pakistan’s legislative culture. It passed a bill mandating reproductive health education in schools. The Federal Supervision of Curricula Amendment Bill, cleared by both houses and awaiting presidential assent, requires that students aged 14 and above in Islamabad’s educational…

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