National

Local Production Of Iron, Folic Acid Supplements May Curb Anaemia In 15m Pakistani Girls

ISLAMABAD: The local production of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation (WIFAS) in adolescent doses could prevent around 15 million adolescent girls in Pakistan from suffering from iron deficiency anemia as ensuring sustainable access to these supplements could significantly reduce costs and lessen reliance on expensive imports, according to officials and nutrition experts. Iron deficiency anaemia is the leading cause…

Federal Health Minister Urges Action As Vaccination Refusals Hindering Polio Eradication

Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has expressed serious concern over vaccine refusals, stating that nearly 43,000 parents in Sindh — 42,000 of them in Karachi alone —have refused polio vaccination for their children, posing a major obstacle to the eradication efforts. He made these remarks while visiting the Provincial…

New Textbooks For Grade 1 To 5 To Be Delivered In Two Weeks

ISLAMABAD: The supply of newly developed textbooks for grade 1 to 5…

Children With Disabilities Showcase Talent At PNCA

Islamabad: The Directorate General of Special Education (DGSE), Ministry of Federal Education…

Pakistan Faces National Health Emergency: Panah

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan National Heart Association (Panah) has claimed that Pakistan has been facing a national health emergency that requires strong and sustained action. “National health data paints an alarming picture: cardiovascular diseases account for nearly one-third of all deaths in the country; diabetes affects approximately 31 percent of adults—one of…

Rabies Toll

EVERY year, rabies, the deadliest zoonotic disease, kills more than 59,000 people worldwide. In Pakistan, it is one of myriad public health challenges poised to become an epidemic. Between January and April, Sindh recorded a staggering 85,891 cases of dog bites. Last year, it logged over 285,000 cases with 22…

Child Nutrition Crisis

Pakistan’s child nutrition crisis has long been treated as a welfare issue when, in reality, it is a national emergency with generational consequences. To cater to this worsening crisis, Unicef has partnered with the University of Health Sciences to launch a capacity-building programme aimed at incorporating nutrition and child health…

The Polio Fight Goes On

It is enough of an ignominy that this country is one of only two, the other being Afghanistan, where polio still remains endemic. However, it is even more shameful that even those brave souls who are trying to eradicate this disease from the country are routinely the target of violent,…

Enrolled, But Not In School

Twenty million children are characterised as ‘out of school’ in Pakistan. This figure is alarming on its own. But there is a second, quieter crisis unfolding inside the school system that we’re neglecting. A crisis that never makes the headlines and a crisis no enrollment campaign will solve. When you…

Population Growth Can Become ‘Social Bomb’

• Ahsan Iqbal proposes incentives under NFC for provinces managing population growth • Projections say population can reach 389.9 million by 2050 even under a slow-decline scenario ISLAMABAD: Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal on May 12 warned that unchecked population growth could become a “social bomb” and a major…

Hepatitis C Elimination Programme Launched To Screen, Treat Millions Nationwide

ISLAMABAD: Health authorities on Wednesday formally launched the Prime Minister’s National Programme for the Elimination of Hepatitis C from the Islamabad Capital Territory, aiming to screen 1.6 million people in the federal capital within six months and eventually test more than 164 million people across the country in phases as…

Child Marriage: a Persistent Form of Gender Inequality

Child marriage is not a tradition we can afford to romanticise. It is a violation of childhood, consent and opportunity. Defined as any formal or informal union where one or both parties are under 18, child marriage remains one of Pakistan’s most persistent forms of gender inequality. Despite legal prohibitions,…

A Better Start

THE first 1,000 days of a child’s life often shape decades to come. In Pakistan, where chronic malnutrition has long harmed childhood development, an evaluation of the Benazir Nashonuma Programme shows that some children are finally getting a better start. The Aga Khan University study found a 22pc reduction in…

Parental Violence against Children on the Rise: Sparc

ISLAMABAD: While there are less than 500 clinical psychologists and approximately 270 to 400 psychiatrists for a population exceeding 240 million, violence by parents against children in Pakistan is becoming a widespread issue with reports indicating it is often treated as a private family matter rather than a social crisis. Though the government has passed…

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