M. Waqar Bhatti, is an investigative reporter, currently covering health, science, environment and water issues for The News International.
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April 03, 2025
‘Local production of iron, folic acid supplements may curb anaemia in 15m Pakistani girls’
A representational image of medicines. — AFP/FileISLAMABAD: The local production of Weekly Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation in adolescent...
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March 31, 2025
Healthcare crisis looms as medical device registration delay not resolved
A representational image of a hospital ward. — AFP/FileThe registration of life-saving medical devices and diagnostic products in Pakistan has...
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March 29, 2025
Murad okays merger of NICVD, SICVD to address financial challenges
CM directs health department to devise a comprehensive business plan for integration within three months
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March 27, 2025
Drap intensifies crackdown on illegal medicines, medical devices
Confiscated stock was found to be unlicensed and overpriced, prompting legal action against those involved
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March 26, 2025
CII to deliberate on ‘mothers milk registry’ today
Prof Jamal pointed out that parents of premature babies often struggle to afford specialised formula
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March 26, 2025
Sitara-i-Imtiaz conferred on Prof Ziaul Haq
President Asif Ali Zardari presentes prestigious award to Dr Ziaul Haq at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, Islamabad on March 23, 2025. —...
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March 25, 2025
26 tonnes of raw opioid material imported in a year
Pakistan’s actual need for Tramadol is only fraction of this amount
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March 23, 2025
Mpox starts spreading locally as Karachi reports first case with no travel history
A test tube labelled "Mpox virus positive" is held in this illustration taken August 20, 2024. — ReutersSindh has reported its first case of...
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March 22, 2025
Healthcare sector hit by shortage of medical devices as registration stalls
A representational image of a hospital ward. — AFP/FilePakistan is facing an escalating shortage of medical devices, and if the registration...
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March 20, 2025
PMDC without regular registrar for two years, exposing institutional mismanagement
Under PMDC Act, appointment of registrar must be made transparently and on merit through formal selection process
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March 20, 2025
‘Over 70pc people unaware of having serious medical conditions’
A representational image showing people walking through a market. — AFP/FileMore than 70 per cent of around 350 drivers and travellers screened at...
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March 19, 2025
PIERA’s indifference exposes female teachers to worst exploitation
Women face meager salaries, illegal deductions, lack of job security, and sexual harassment
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March 19, 2025
Iftar dinner hosted for orphans
Children and officials pose for a group photo during a special iftar dinner organised under the auspices of Pakistan Bait ul Mal and Al-Khidmat...
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March 19, 2025
Call for urgent action over Karachi’s green space crisis
A Pakistani man rests under the shade of trees during a heatwave in Karachi on June 23, 2015. — AFP A groundbreaking study using advanced AI and...
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March 17, 2025
Absence of donors: Two more young Pakistanis to seek heart transplants in India
Deep-rooted cultural and religious beliefs prevent families from allowing organ harvesting from brain-dead patients
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March 17, 2025
Federal health minister urges action as vaccination refusals hindering polio eradication
Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal speaks in a meeting during his visit to the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre for Polio in Sindh...
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March 16, 2025
Kamal seeks five-year development plan for health institutions
Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Deputy Convener Mustafa Kamal. — X@KamalMQM/FileFederal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal has directed the National...
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March 14, 2025
High temperatures, extreme rainfall threaten child growth in Pakistan: study
Research highlights that each one-degree Celsius rise is linked to significant decline in child’s length-for-age z-score
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March 14, 2025
Pharmacy council announces key reforms to improve education
Pharmacy Council of Pakistan building can be seen in this image. — pcpisb.gov.pk/FileIslamabad:The Pharmacy Council of Pakistan has announced...
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March 13, 2025
Pakistan urged to make bold nutrition pledges at N4G summit 2025
Dr Zulfiqar Bhutta stresses need for evidence-based commitments at global summit
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March 12, 2025
PMDC under fire over fee structure of private medical colleges
Palwasha accuses private medical colleges of operating like ‘mafia’ by exploiting students through unjustified fee hikes
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March 11, 2025
Does Centre need two health ministers?
With pressing public health issues, Pakistan needs strong and coherent health leadership
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March 11, 2025
Gulshan-e-Iqbal resident succumbs to Naegleria fowleri
The representational image shows an ambulance. — AFP/FileA 36-year-old woman from Gulshan-e-Iqbal, District East, Karachi, has succumbed to...
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March 10, 2025
Health experts call for banning toxic ‘forever chemicals’ in Pakistan
A representational image of multiple researchers handling various equipment in a lab. — Reuters/File National and international health experts...
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March 07, 2025
Murad okays comprehensive four-year health improvement plan
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah presides over a meeting to review the health indicators at CM House in Karachi on March 6, 2025. —...
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March 06, 2025
Dengue outbreak may hit parts of country following rains, warns NIH
Advisory urges authorities and public to take immediate preventive measures to curb mosquito breeding
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March 05, 2025
NA panel demands restoration of Sehat Sahulat Programme
Due to financial difficulties, service has been suspended in Islamabad
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March 05, 2025
Call for acknowledging medical errors instead of concealing them
A representational image of a hospital ward. — AFP/FileA staggering 18 to 20 per cent of hospitalised patients in Pakistan lose their lives due to...
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March 04, 2025
Model WHO Assembly engages students in global health debate
Participants pose for a group photo at the first-ever Model World Health Organisation Assembly hosted by Aga Khan University on March 3, 2025. —...
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March 01, 2025
NA body reviews progress of ‘One Patient One ID’ initiative
A major discussion point was growing burden of NCDs, which remain a leading cause of death in Pakistan
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February 28, 2025
PMDC fails to fix fee for private medical colleges
Committee recommended annual fee of Rs1.2 million, but proposal was not approved
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February 28, 2025
PM aide on climate change inaugurates urban forest drive
Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam addresses an event on planting 100,000 in Islamabad on February 27, 2025. —...
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February 27, 2025
Soaring medicine prices have left millions without treatment, warns PMA
PPMA is now pushing for another increase in prices of 262 essential medicines, citing unsustainable costs
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February 26, 2025
Who is behind smuggling of high-dosage opioid medicine from Pakistan?
Officials believe this was one of largest drug seizures in history of Pakistan and region
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February 26, 2025
First case of human-to-animal drug-resistant TB transmission suspected in Karachi’s elephants
A caretaker feeds an elephant, Madhubala, after being relocated from the Karachi Zoological Garden to a safari park in Karachi on November 26, 2024....
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February 25, 2025
KSA confirms $500m pledge to eradicate polio from Pakistan, Afghanistan
Funds were initially pledged in April 2024 at first-ever World Economic Forum Special Meeting hosted in Riyadh
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February 22, 2025
DRAP allows production of new drugs for cancer, other ailments
Officials add that all complete applications for registration till January 30, 2025 were approved
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February 22, 2025
Alkhidmat to train pharmacists to control counterfeit, spurious drugs
Karachi Jamaat-e-Islami Emir and President of Alkhidmat Karachi Munem Zafar Khan addresses the Alkhidmat Pharmacy Training Program - Aptitude Test...
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February 21, 2025
Dr Obaidullah ‘okayed’ to lead DRAP: official
"Nothing in writing yet” a senior official in federal of official told The News on Thursday
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February 21, 2025
Special polio vaccination drive in high-risk UCs of Karachi to start tomorrow
A polio vaccinator administers polio vaccine drops to a boy while a colleague takes notes nearby, along a street in a Karachi slum. —...
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February 19, 2025
Mirpurkhas emerges as Sindh’s new HIV hotspot with 150 child cases in 2024
The representational image shows the blood sample taken for test. — AFP/FileThe Mirpurkhas district in Sindh is rapidly emerging as ‘another...
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February 18, 2025
DRAP CEO appointment summary sent to PM
Secretary clarifies all DRAP directors are fully authorised to make decisions within their respective divisions
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February 16, 2025
DRAP without CEO for two weeks, regulatory affairs in limbo
Lack of leadership at country’s top drug regulatory body has raised concerns over delays
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February 15, 2025
Hospitals struggle as life-saving medical devices stuck at airports, ports
Importers and healthcare professionals warn that hospitals across country are already facing impact
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February 12, 2025
DRAP resists bids to declare breast milk substitutes as food items
Senate panel says that infant formula should remain under DRAP’s regulatory framework
