Holistic TB care
GLOBALLY, Pakistan ranks fifth among high tuberculosis-burden countries, with over 686,000 TB case notifications in 2023. On World TB Day, we urge health policymakers to acknowledge that TB is not…
Can chatbots be therapists? Only if you want them to be
A manager at artificial intelligence firm OpenAI caused consternation recently by writing that she just had “a quite emotional, personal conversation” with her firm’s viral chatbot ChatGPT. “Never tried therapy…
The form and design of IMF programmes
For most of the IMF programmes since 1988, a coupling of short-term programme (Stand-by SBA) with a medium-term programme (Extended Fund Facility (EFF), variously named) has been the norm. The…
Larkana’s HIV outbreak
FOR several years, bonfires were lighting up in small towns and villages of Sindh; bonfires turned to bushfires, and bushfires are now rapidly engulfing the forest. Brave firefighters are battling…
Time to end TB
SHE sits before me, a frail woman of 28, pregnant for the fourth time. Her chest X-ray before treatment shows severe lung disease, and further testing reveals she harbours drug-resistant…
Healthy opportunity
NEXT week, the UN is convening three high-level meetings on universal health coverage (UHC), tuberculosis (TB) and pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR) at its 78th General Assembly session. These…
Housing for people
In August 2022, when Pakistan faced one of the most devastating climate disasters in its history, with one-third of the country submerged under water, the tragedy left millions of citizens…
Green or gone? Our carbon challenge
It is no secret that Pakistan has been battered by an economic crunch for decades now. The investment climate is in the doldrums, as evidenced by the low investment-to-GDP rate…
Defunding the world
In making America great again, the US is putting the final nail in the coffin of a world order it had put together, brick by brick after World War II.…
Climate-smart social protection
PAKISTAN’S social protection system is at a crossroads. Traditional social protection systems, while providing critical support for poverty reduction, are not designed to address the compounding challenges of climate-triggered disasters. The country’s…
