The world’s leading researchers, clinicians, survivors, and health advocates gathered in Bangkok for the 37th International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) Conference, a pivotal meeting themed ‘Research Toward the Global Elimination of HPV-related Diseases and Cancers’. Held on October 23-26, against the dazzling backdrop of Thailand’s capital, the conference became
Monsoons bring rain, which in turn bring floods and stagnant water. This in turn leads to lots of mosquitoes and the mosquitoes bring disease. This is about as close to an iron rule as one can get in Pakistan: monsoon season brings dengue and malaria season. This is
OVER the past two decades, Pakistan has faced several HIV eruptions and the ignominy of ranking second among nations with the sharpest rise in HIV cases in the Asia-Pacific region. Sadly, not even the scale of the crisis has spurred the government into action. The Sindh health minister
The world treats defence as an existential priority – and rightly so, because lapses in readiness can trigger cascading crises. Climate change now carries the same gravity for vulnerable regions like Pakistan and whole of South Asia. It shuts factories during heatwaves, collapses bridges in flood season, pushes
Last week, Pakistan’s polio tally for 2025 went up to 30. The latest case was recorded in district Torghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where over half (19) of this year’s polio cases have come from. While the tally for this year is still much lower than the 74 cases
FOR more than three decades, Pakistan has fought poliovirus with collective determination, reducing cases by 99.6 per cent. Despite concerted efforts, poliovirus has survived in two countries, posing persistent risk to the health and lives of vulnerable children in Pakistan and Afghanistan. As we commemorate World Polio Day
AS temperatures begin to drop, smog makes an unwelcome arrival in many parts of the country, particularly Lahore and urban Punjab. This health and climate crisis has been brewing for some years, while the state — nudged on by civil society and experts — has begun to take steps to
THE world rightly sees child domestic workers as modern slaves, while domestic labour is categorised as informal work, or invisible labour. In July 2022, a qualitative study by the International Labour Organisation revealed that one in every four Pakistani households employs a minor, showing a predominance of girls
The National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) advanced major child protection reforms in 2024–2025, including the drafting of the Prohibition of Child Labour in Domestic Work Bill 2024 and advocacy for harmonizing the minimum marriage age at 18 years across all provinces. The Commission launched the
The brick kiln industry in Pakistan continues to violate human rights, deeply affecting vulnerable groups such as women and children through bonded labour and exploitation. Despite legal measures and international commitments, these abuses persist, especially in Punjab, which has more than half of Pakistan’s brick kilns and around
The National Commission on the Rights of Child (NCRC) highlights that education is a fundamental right, yet 26.2 million children in Pakistan remain out of school. The policy brief identifies key barriers such as poverty, gender inequality, poor infrastructure, and lack of inclusivity, offering actionable policy and practice
The Climate Risk Index 2025 shows that from 1993–2022, over 765,000 people died and nearly USD 4.2 trillion in losses occurred due to more than 9,400 extreme weather events. Dominica, China, and Honduras were the most affected countries long-term, while Pakistan, Belize, and Italy ranked highest for 2022.