Eight year-old Ali Hassan was a victim of a hit-and-run accident. Coming from a dysfunctional family, he also suffered parental neglect following abandonment by his father, and family violence. His mother had sent him, along with his older sister, to work as domestic workers. His tasks included dish-washing and cleaning of the car. Their wages […]
Parmin Gul – A widow from Mohmand Agency
Parmin’s life did not turn out the way she had wished. She was married off at the tender age of 15 years, bore two children, and was a widow at age 22. Her entire world had been torn apart. She was brought up to believe in the ideals of motherhood and the sanctity of marriage. Widowhood, hence, has had […]
Story of Sakina Bibi
Sakina Bibi, an elderly woman aged 78, lived in extreme poverty. She had no source of income and lived an impoverished life with her two disabled adult children – a son and a daughter-in-law, both deaf and dumb – and two grandchildren. She was destitute and lived off the charity of her neighbours and the […]
Sidra’s ordeal
Tears welled up in the eyes of Sidra’s father as he spoke about the illness of his 10 year-old daughter and his inability to meet the cost of her treatment. Lean, pale and restless, Sidra tossed and turned in pain on the hospital bed. She seemed extremely undernourished and deprived of all life’s amenities. She seemed […]
Faiza – Victim of violence
Faiza, a recent divorcée aged 28 years, was born to a poor family. Face down, she lay motionless on the hospital bed, with both her legs fractured. One leg was plastered while the other, which had sustained multiple fractures, awaited surgery. The surgery was possible only if the financial costs were met. She had no […]
Juma Khan, the refugee
Juma Khan was forced to migrate from North Waziristan to the city of Peshawar, and a few years later, to the outskirts of Islamabad, just to make a living. He was born in Pakistan to refugee parents from Afghanistan, and despite having spent 38 years in Pakistan, was still tagged as a refugee. He was illiterate, had […]
World Cancer Day: A sobering reminder
Our senior verifier Farkhanda broke down into tears as she narrated the story to me. I noted that she had been very sad all day yesterday, after having reviewed a child’s funding application. Nine year old SN knew she was suffering from a serious disease, which would be fatal if left untreated. She was the […]
Lessons from Sabir’s story: Why we aim for development and humanitarian objectives at Heartfile
Sabir was not on his bed when I entered the ward, which gave me an opportunity to go through the case notes. He suffered from a heart disease called infective (bacterial) endocarditis, a condition in which an infection ‘somewhere’ in the body can spill into the bloodstream and form vegetations or infected lumps on pre-existing […]
Heartfile Health Financing story of Anayat
According to the UNFPA, every day 20,000 girls under the age of 18 give birth in developing countries. There are in effect 20,000 dire untold stories of gender inequity, malnutrition, survival and even abuse. Anayat’s is one such story of survival, selflessness and cultural pressure. It is the story of needless suffering of a woman, […]
Innovative use of “mHealth” in a model for healthcare financing
As defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), eHealth is the latest development in health that ensures cost-effective and secure use of information and communication technologies in promoting and supporting health and its related fields. However, eHealth is a general term; of its four distinct components, Mobile Health (mHealth) i.e., provision of health services and […]
