Health

The information surfaced on a reporter WhatsApp group: Eight small children had been infected with HIV, supposedly at Kulsum Bai Valika hospital in Karachi and two were dead. Every reporter was busy calling their Sindh government contacts to get confirmation and details. Since I am new to Health reporting, I decided to go to the … Read more

Pakistan has witnessed a dangerous shift in the way young people are being targeted by the tobacco industry. Once dominated by conventional cigarettes and smokeless forms like naswar and gutka, the market has expanded to include e-cigarettes and vapes among other new nicotine products. These products, often disguised in colourful packaging and sweet flavours, are … Read more

Ketamine a short-acting anesthetic that can have hallucinogenic effects. It is becoming more easily available, and some experts fear misuse is increasing.

Pakistan’s diabetes crisis is now among the worst in the world, but health experts warn that only half the battle is being fought. Obesity, a critical driver of Type 2 diabetes, remains largely overlooked for the main reason that people in Pakistan see it as a lifestyle failure, not a disease. The International Diabetes Federation … Read more

Forty thousand Karachi families refused polio vaccines this year. In a city where the virus circulates through every district, those refusals represent the gap between Pakistan's impressive polio infrastructure and its inability to close the final mile of eradication. Pakistan has cut polio cases by more than 99.6% since 1994—from 20,000 annual cases to just … Read more

Punjab Police has announced a mandatory mental and physical health screening programme for all ranks amid rising concerns over stress-related conditions within the force. According to an official circular issued by the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Establishment Punjab-I titled "Psychological Profiling for All Cadres," police officers and frontline personnel are increasingly exposed to high-pressure environments, … Read more

Disability in Pakistan is rarely invisible. It appears in classrooms where ramps are missing, in buses that cannot be boarded, in job interviews that quietly end after a single glance. Yet it is also rarely discussed in any sustained way. For most people, it remains something to be acknowledged briefly, often with sympathy, and then … Read more

With more than 800 guests in attendance, Hamdard Pakistan recently hosted the 3rd Shaheed Hakim Mohammed Said Awards at the Governor’s House, Lahore. Centred on the theme "Wellness Redefined," the event celebrated visionary leaders who are actively shaping a brighter future for Pakistan through their contributions to health, education, and community development. For the very … Read more

Modern Love in miniature, featuring reader-submitted stories of no more than 100 words.

Erin Lee Carr’s new documentary revisits the 2004 makeover show “The Swan,” which gave 32 women extensive plastic surgery and anticipated where beauty culture was headed.