On Sept 9, 2015, I moderated a World Economic Forum panel discussion on the future of healthcare in Dalian, China. The panel drew on a wide range of expertise. With Minister Subramarian from Malaysia, Daljit Singh from the corporate world in India, Professor Thomas Insel, Director of the United States’ National Institute of Mental Health […]
For the last seven years, every November, around 800 thought leaders from around the world convene in the United Arab Emirates for the World Economic Forum’s Summit on the Global Agenda. Knitted as a global knowledge network of around 80 Global Agenda Councils on a wide range of subjects, the event is widely recognized as […]
Non-communicable disease is a collective name for four major diseases, CVD, diabetes, some cancers and chronic lung conditions These 4 diseases, are linked by 4 lifestyle and four biological risks. Diet is one of them This afternoon, I would like to make 4 points about the relevance of NCDs to the global development agenda First, […]
My visit to the United Nations’ headquarters during the UN review on non-communicable diseases (NCDs) on Friday, July 11, as speaker and moderator for two events, respectively, made me go down the memory lane for some reasons. As a young medical intern working in the then named North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), I was always […]
A forty-five year old man at the prime of his life in Pakistan struggles with heart disease. He has been told that three of his major coronary arteries are critically blocked. His wife, at age 43 suffers from type 2 diabetes and has recently developed complications in both eyes, which could make her loose her […]
Earlier last week, the Director General of WHO announced the establishment of the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity to strengthen the scientific evidence base for action, to engage all stakeholders and to create awareness and build momentum for action to address this issue. The Director General of WHO has asked that I co-Chair the […]
Last month, a high powered technical Symposium on maternal and child health concluded at the flooded Oxford University Egrove Park with a message that can be captured in just one Cartoon. Projected as the last slide of Stephen Kennedy, the opening speaker’s presentation, the cartoon was framed in the setting of a racing track with a […]
At the end of each year, analysts tend to review past performance of governments and sectors and whip forecasts and recommendations for the future. In doing so, they generally view things with a technical analytical lens where performance metrics, indicators and benchmarks come into play. Metrics matter deeply for performance with quantitative and qualitative data, […]
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 […]
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 […]
With thanks to our generous donor, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation
