Citizen journalist
THE early days of the novel coronavirus were soaked in unknowing. There was very little that was known about the virus, how it was transmitted, what symptoms it caused, how…
Such relentless misgovernance
In my column on Jan 1, I asked: “What has the PTI done for Pakistan during its time in power?” My thesis was that after the hype created by the…
A combined approach
On World Health Patient Safety Day today (September 17), the Covid-19 pandemic continues to be the most serious threat to public health globally. New records are made each day. Worldwide…
A win for Africa
With no recorded cases since 2016, the African region has received certification as wild polio virus free by the World Health Organization (WHO) – and this is one of the…
An alarm bell for healthcare
We constantly discover, invent, and improve to survive and grow in this world. Interestingly, for those of us who don’t improve, life creates situations and circumstances that force us to…
A gloomy outlook
Ignoring the impassioned appeals of the medical community, the federal and provincial governments have eased the lockdown prompting people to throng markets, shops and other places. The ease was announced…
Law and medicine
The coronavirus is a greater threat to national and global security than terrorism ever was. If we legislated, reinterpreted, and even twisted laws for antiterrorism, we must similarly explore the…
Fixing polio vaccine hesitancy
THAT Pakistani parents mark their children’s fingers because they do not want them to be vaccinated is correct. That this outright refusal and other forms of vaccine hesitancy is the…
Human rights & mental health
A DECADE ago, world-renowned psychiatrist and medical anthropologist Arthur Kleinman termed the standard of mental healthcare across the world a ‘failure of humanity’. He noted that the worse deficiencies of…
Beyond belief
CHRISTMAS is around the corner, and while there are always regional and sectarian variations in how it is observed, some traditions and symbols, like the Christmas tree, are universal. No…
