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Health📍 PAKISTAN

Drug Makers Warn Deregulation Reversal Will Cause Medicine Shortages

The Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association has issued a formal warning that any reversal of the government's pharmaceutical deregulation policy would trigger critical shortages of essential medicines across the country. The industry body argued that price deregulation has been fundamental to sustaining local production capacity and ensuring consistent supply chains for both generic and branded medications.

Health📍 GLOBAL

WHO declares Ebola risk high regionally but low globally

The World Health Organisation has assessed the current Ebola outbreak as posing a high risk to affected regions while characterising the global risk as low, in an official risk communication aimed at calibrating international response without triggering unnecessary alarm. The WHO's risk stratification reflects the containment status of the outbreak, which remains concentrated within specific geographic zones where transmission chains are still being monitored.

Health📍 PAKISTAN / CHINA

Pakistan Proposes Joint Vaccine Manufacturing Programme with China

Pakistan has formally proposed establishing a joint vaccine production programme with China, in a move that would mark a significant step toward domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and reduced dependence on imported immunisation supplies. The proposal reflects Islamabad's broader ambition to localise healthcare production in partnership with Beijing under the framework of bilateral cooperation that has expanded significantly in recent years.

Health📍 DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Ebola Spreads Undetected in Congo Due to Flawed Tests and Funeral Rites

Defective diagnostic tests and traditional funeral practices have enabled the Ebola virus to circulate undetected across communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to new findings that raise urgent concerns about the integrity of the country's outbreak surveillance system. The combination of unreliable testing infrastructure and high-risk burial customs has created conditions in which infected individuals are neither identified nor isolated in time to prevent transmission.

Health📍 PAKISTAN

Pakistan Launches Week-Long Anti-Polio Drive Across 79 Districts

Pakistan has launched a week-long anti-polio vaccination campaign covering 79 districts nationwide, deploying thousands of health workers to reach children under five in one of the country's recurring efforts to eradicate the disease. The campaign targets high-risk and previously under-vaccinated populations, with a particular focus on mobile and transient communities that have historically been difficult to reach.

Health📍 PAKISTAN

Pakistan Faces Rising Health Crisis as Global Funding Declines: Report

A new report warns that Pakistan faces a significantly growing health risk as international funding directed at the country's health sector continues to shrink, threatening the sustainability of critical public health programmes. The findings highlight a structural vulnerability in Pakistan's health financing model, which remains heavily dependent on external donor support for disease control, primary care, and emergency response infrastructure.

Health📍 PAKISTAN

Pakistan Reports Significant Drop in Child Stunting Under Nashonuma Programme

Pakistan has recorded a major decline in child stunting rates, with the government attributing the improvement to the Benazir Nashonuma Programme, a flagship nutrition intervention targeting mother and child health in the country's most vulnerable districts. The programme, operating under the social protection umbrella of the Benazir Income Support Programme, provides cash transfers and nutritional supplements to pregnant and lactating women as well as children under two years of age.

Health📍 PAKISTAN

PM Shehbaz Orders Nationwide Disease Screening Drive Across Pakistan

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the Ministry of National Health Services to launch a nationwide disease screening initiative, aiming to identify and address undetected illnesses across Pakistan's population through a structured, government-led public health campaign. The directive emerged from a high-level meeting chaired by the Prime Minister to review the health ministry's performance and forward agenda.

Health📍 TEHRAN, IRAN

Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi Hospitalised In Iran, Supporters Say

Supporters of imprisoned Iranian human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi have reported that she has been hospitalised in Iran, raising fresh alarm over her health and detention conditions. Mohammadi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for her decades-long campaign against Iran's compulsory hijab laws and the death penalty, has been serving a lengthy prison sentence and has previously been reported to have suffered serious health deterioration in custody.

Health📍 KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

Pakistan Reports Two New Polio Cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Pakistan has confirmed two new polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, health authorities announced on Friday, marking fresh setbacks in the country's protracted campaign to eradicate the crippling disease. The new cases add to the cumulative tally recorded in 2026 and underscore the persistent challenges facing vaccination teams in KP, where access constraints, vaccine refusals, and population movement continue to allow the wild poliovirus to circulate in pockets of the province.

Health📍 KARACHI, SINDH

Karachi Drug Lab Earns WHO Prequalification, Lifting Pakistan's Testing Standards

The Central Drugs Laboratory in Karachi has received World Health Organisation prequalification, a globally recognised accreditation that validates the facility's testing standards and positions Pakistan as a more credible participant in international pharmaceutical quality assurance frameworks. WHO prequalification is a stringent process that assesses laboratory infrastructure, testing methodology, data integrity, and regulatory oversight.

Health📍 ISLAMABAD

Health Minister Vows Probe Into Global Fund Irregularities, Reviews HIV Data

Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal has pledged a formal investigation into alleged irregularities in the management of Global Fund grants for Pakistan's HIV programme, while simultaneously presenting updated data on the country's HIV burden during a high-level policy briefing. The minister's announcement follows concerns raised about financial management and oversight lapses in programmes funded through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a major multilateral health financing mechanism through which Pakistan receives substantial public health support.

Health📍 INTERNATIONAL

Melanoma Vaccine Cuts Recurrence Risk by Nearly 50 Percent in Trial

A new cancer vaccine treatment has demonstrated the capacity to reduce the risk of melanoma recurrence by nearly fifty percent, according to emerging clinical trial data that is generating significant attention in the oncology community. The development represents a potential milestone in personalised cancer immunotherapy and raises the possibility of a broader class of therapeutic vaccines for other cancer types.

Health📍 ISLAMABAD

Mustafa Kamal Calls for Coordinated Response to HIV Prevention

Federal Minister for National Health Services Mustafa Kamal on Monday stressed the urgent need for coordinated inter-institutional action to strengthen Pakistan's HIV prevention and control efforts, calling on all relevant government bodies, health departments, and international partners to align their programmes under a unified national strategy. The minister was speaking at a high-level health sector gathering where Pakistan's current HIV statistics were reviewed, including rising case counts in several urban centres and among vulnerable populations.

Health📍 BALOCHISTAN

Rs903 Million Invested to Strengthen Health Emergency Infrastructure in Balochistan

An investment of Rs903 million has been directed toward strengthening health emergency response capacity across Balochistan, addressing longstanding gaps in the province's ability to handle medical crises in one of Pakistan's most geographically challenging and underserved regions. The funding targets emergency infrastructure, equipment, and operational preparedness at facilities serving populations scattered across vast distances.

Health📍 PUNJAB, PAKISTAN

Al-Shifa Trust Launches Pakistan's First Ophthalmic Genetics Database

Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital has launched Pakistan's first dedicated ophthalmic genetics database, a milestone development in the country's medical research infrastructure that positions the institution as a regional pioneer in the clinical study of hereditary eye diseases. The database will enable systematic cataloguing of genetic data linked to ocular conditions, supporting both diagnosis and research into conditions that disproportionately affect populations with high rates of consanguineous marriages.

Health📍 INTERNATIONAL

Clinical Trial Finds Controversial Drug Relieves Severe Depression Within Hours

A new clinical study has found that a controversial pharmaceutical compound can deliver rapid relief from severe depression within hours of administration, a finding that researchers say could fundamentally alter the treatment paradigm for one of the world's most debilitating mental health conditions. The results have been described as clinically significant by participating investigators, though debate over the drug's safety profile and long-term effects remains active.

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