The recent spell of heavy monsoon rains has brought severe challenges to the city, including urban flooding, traffic disruptions, prolonged power outages, and interruptions to daily life. Despite these difficulties, Karachi has shown resilience, with individuals and institutions stepping up to support communities and maintain essential services.
Among the most notable efforts has been the uninterrupted functioning of Children’s Emergency Rooms (ERs) in government hospitals, run under a public–private partnership model. Even as large parts of the city were submerged, the ChildLife-managed ERs in six public hospitals across Karachi continued providing free, round-the-clock emergency care to children.
In just the past three days, more than 3,000 children were treated across these facilities, with a significant rise in gastroenteritis cases linked to contaminated water and unhygienic post-flood conditions.
Dr Ahson Rabbani, CEO of ChildLife Foundation, said, “In times when the city is paralysed, our duty is to ensure that no child is left unattended. We honour our ER teams across Karachi who had remained steadfast as frontline heroes and ensured that every child receives the emergency care they need.”
In partnership with the Sindh government, ChildLife managed ten pediatric ERs in public tertiary hospitals across the province. Its integrated telemedicine network ensures access to emergency care in all tehsils of Sindh, making quality treatment available within 30 minutes for every child.
ChildLife Foundation currently provides life-saving treatment to over 2 million children annually across Pakistan, operating 24/7 and completely free of charge. The organisation has played a key role in modernising and expanding pediatric emergency care across the country.
Published in The News on August 25, 2025.
