World Food Day, which took place on the 16th October, was a day to reflect on global hunger and undernourishment and the challenges posed by food insecurity on economies worldwide. . Building upon the World Food Summit pledge in 1996, world leaders at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 vowed to half the proportion of people […]
Ageing: A challenge, an opportunity and a triumph
This year, UNFPA and HelpAge International jointly contributed to a report that analyses the impact of ageing in the twenty-first century and puts forward policy recommendations to maximize the opportunity of ageing populations in developing and developed world contexts. The data and statistics presented predict that by the year 2050, 2 billion people will be […]
Heartfile’s 2012 Clinton Global Initiative Commitment
At the end of September, our President and Founder Dr Sania Nishtar spent an inspiring few days at the eighth annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting in New York. It was a meeting of minds where over 1,000 global leaders, CEOs, scientists, philanthropists, innovators, NGOs and journalists convened to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing […]
Pakistan’s drug deaths
The deaths of over 125 people in Lahore from contaminated drugs are a stark illustration of the inherent institutional and policy weaknesses in our health systems. Our articles and statements in the media and in other academic journals on this issue can be accessed below:
Social Health Insurance in NWFP – the steps ahead
A news feature in The NEWS on April the 4th has outlined the NWFP Department of Health’s intent to launch a social health insurance scheme for the province. Aimed at improving access of the marginalized to health services, this is, in principle, a step in the right direction as it potentially offers a ‘health systems’ […]
The Gateway Paper – towards a health systems reform
R eleased on January 9, 2006, the first publication of Pakistan’s Health Policy Forum (PHPF), the Gateway Paper entitled “Health Systems in Pakistan – a Way Forward” is set within a broad context. A context relevant to health on the one hand and one that cross cuts with broader social sector issues, inter-sectoral processes and […]