Indus Vitals

Conference organisers announce cholesterol awareness app in Urdu, Sindhi and English IV Report KARACHI: Health experts have expressed concern over the rising incidence of heart disease among younger people in Pakistan, linking the trend to abnormal blood lipid levels, unhealthy dietary habits and inadequate awareness of cholesterol screening. Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) on Saturday, on the sidelines of the first Lipid Society of Pakistan Conference, the experts stressed the need for early identification of cardiovascular risk factors, regular screening and lifestyle changes to prevent heart attacks and strokes. Professor Muhammad Nawaz Lashari, secretary general of the Lipid Society of Pakistan and a professor at Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS), said excessive blood lipid levels were a major contributor to the growing burden of cardiovascular disease. A post-conference press release cited “research” suggesting that 95 per cent of Pak...

Experts link cybercrime to erosion of values, call for legislation with implementation; NCCIA official says data access remains key challenge IV Report KARACHI: An interactive seminar at the University of Karachi on Friday called for stronger laws, their strict implementation, and collective responsibility to check rising cases of online harassment, blackmail and character assassination. The seminar on 'National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA): Challenges, Counter-Strategies, and Freedom of Speech' was organised by the Department of Criminology at the Chinese Teachers' Memorial Auditorium. Newly appointed KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Wasim Qazi said crime cannot be confined to violation of law alone, as deviation from social values, denial of equal opportunities and lack of moral training are also grave social problems. For a civilised society, he said, respect for humanity, mutual acceptance and effective legislation with implementation are essential. He s...

Pakistan has accumulated substantial evidence on HIV transmission, but the continuing challenge is to turn surveillance, treatment and prevention into a coordinated response that reaches people and communities in time. Prof Dr Muhammad Rafiq Khanani The gap between knowing and acting Pakistan has nevertheless made progress in one visible area: the expansion of free antiretroviral therapy. The country had approximately 95 ART centres by 2025. But the number of centres can create an impression of progress that the treatment cascade does not necessarily support. The more meaningful questions are whether people living with HIV know their status, whether those diagnosed begin treatment, whether they remain on treatment and whether they achieve viral suppression. An ART centre is of limited value to someone who does not know they are infected, cannot reach the service, drops out of treatment or never receives the viral-load monitoring needed to establish whether treatment is working....

Speakers call for stronger regulation, primary healthcare and prevention as households continue to shoulder much of the healthcare burden IV Report KARACHI: Weak governance, inadequate regulation, limited public-sector coverage and insufficient emphasis on prevention are undermining Pakistan’s ability to build an equitable and sustainable health system, speakers said at an international conference at the University of Karachi on Wednesday. They called for stronger primary healthcare, effective regulation of both public and private sectors, greater investment in health and education, better surveillance and a decisive shift from treating illness to preventing it. The three-day first International Conference on Public Health Governance and Sustainable Health Systems 2026, organised by the University of Karachi in collaboration with Al-Kawthar University, is being held at the HEJ Research Institute Auditorium under the theme “Governing for Health: Equity, Resilience, and Innovati...

                                                                                         AI-generated While the global HIV epidemic is declining, Pakistan is moving in the opposite direction. Four decades after the first locally acquired infections were documented, the country faces a widening gap between what it knows about the epidemic and what it is doing to contain it By Prof Dr Muhammad Rafiq Khanani Pakistan has lived with HIV (Human immunodeficiency virus) for almost four decades. Yet the country’s present challenge is no longer simply to understand how the virus spreads. It is to confront why, despite years of surveillance, treatment programmes and accumulated evidence, transmission continues to expand. The first locally acquired HIV infections were docu...

Mine capacity rises to 11.2 MTPA, to power 1,980 MW; $220m forex saving expected annually THARPARKAR: Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Monday inaugurated the Phase-III expansion of Thar Block-II Coal Mine and Pakistan's first-ever Coal Drying Unit at Tharparkar. Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and officials of Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company (SECMC) were present at the ceremony. According to officials briefing the ceremony, the Phase-III expansion has been completed through 100 percent self-financing. It increases mine capacity from 7.6 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 11.2 MTPA, adding 3.6 MTPA annually. The additional coal production will fuel Lucky Electric Power Company's 660-megawatt power plant. With this, total electricity generation supported by Block-II coal rises from 1,320 MW to 1,980 MW, enough to supply electricity to approximately 4.5 million households daily. Officials said the mine-mouth power generation cost stands ...

PMA seminar calls for enforcement of international fire-safety codes, proactive regulators and institutional accountability following recent deadly incidents By Mukhtar Alam KARACHI: Health and safety experts have called for urgent, comprehensive assessments of healthcare facilities and educational institutions across the country, stressing that preventive planning, effective enforcement of safety standards and regular risk assessments are essential to avert fire-related casualties and ensure timely responses to emergencies. The call came at a seminar and panel discussion on Fire and Life Safety in Healthcare Facilities , organised by the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Karachi, in collaboration with MOSH Consultants Private Limited, an NFPA-authorised training provider, at PMA House on Saturday. The discussions assumed particular significance in the wake of recent deadly fire incidents, including the tragedy at the children’s care unit of Islamabad's Pakistan Institute...