Air pollution costs Pakistan 6.5% of GDP, OICCI says
Air pollution costs Pakistan about 6.5% of GDP and 248,000 premature deaths a year, experts say, as winter smog and falling investment add to the strain.
Health
Public health, medicine, wellbeing and science. Latest health news and analysis from The Indus Compass.
Four polio workers abducted in KP's Tank district
Armed men abducted four polio vaccination workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tank district; two others kidnapped in Lower South Waziristan have been released.
New polio case in Khyber as 24m children face drops from Monday
A 13-month-old girl in Khyber district's Bara tehsil has polio; a seven-day campaign from Nov 2 aims to vaccinate nearly 24 million children in 97 districts.
Lahore tops the world's pollution list again, with an AQI of 296
IQAir ranked Lahore the world's most polluted major city on Wednesday with an AQI of 296; Punjab's EPA says more anti-smog guns are coming.
Flu cases double at Karachi hospitals as nights turn colder
Flu cases at Karachi's JPMC and Civil Hospital have roughly doubled in a week, doctors say, as night temperatures fall with the seasonal shift towards winter.
Insulin product in short supply as German maker halts supplies
A German maker has halted supplies of an insulin used for type 1 diabetes, the National Assembly was told; alternatives exist but cost at least 20pc more.
Dengue cases surge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with Kohat worst hit
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 1,510 dengue cases so far in October, 99 in the past day, with Kohat recording 975 cases this month alone.
Nigeria confirms first Ebola case, a diplomat, Bundibugyo strain
Nigeria's first Ebola case is the Bundibugyo strain behind the DR Congo outbreak. The patient is a diplomat who travelled from Uganda to Abuja on October 3.
Karachi hospital sealed after newborn catches mpox from circumcision tools
Sindh's healthcare commission sealed a Malir hospital after a newborn caught mpox from contaminated tools, as Karachi confirmed a new polio case.
Only one insulin brand is unavailable, health ministry says
The health ministry denied a nationwide insulin shortage, saying only Apidra is unavailable, as it got its ninth secretary in 19 months.
Pakistan has South Asia's worst hunger score, says 2026 Global Hunger Index
Pakistan recorded the highest score in South Asia on the 2026 Global Hunger Index, as food inflation, floods and global conflict worsened food security.
Tharparkar man's death takes Sindh's rabies toll to 38
A Tharparkar man died of rabies at Indus Hospital despite four vaccine doses and a 12-year-old boy was admitted to JPMC, taking Sindh's toll to 38 this year.
A quarter of JPMC cancer patients stop treatment as costs bite
About 25pc of cancer patients at Karachi's JPMC cannot finish treatment because newer therapies cost too much, doctors said. Full care costs Rs3m to Rs4m.