Courtesy: Geo News

Health experts and policymakers call for urgent, nationwide reforms to prioritise prevention

• “Pakistan is facing cardiovascular emergency,” warns Dr  Raj Kumar.
• He calls for shift from reactive treatment to proactive prevention.
• Sedentary lifestyles contributing as exacerbating factors, he adds.

SUKKUR: Cardiovascular disease has emerged as the leading cause of death in the country, claiming nearly 400,000 lives annually and accounting for over 30% of all fatalities, The News reported on Monday.

Alarmed by the growing crisis, health experts and policymakers have called for urgent, nationwide reforms to prioritise prevention, early detection, and equitable access to care, particularly in underserved regions.

“Pakistan is facing a cardiovascular emergency. What’s deeply concerning is the increasing number of patients in their 30s and 40s presenting with advanced coronary artery disease,” said Dr Raj Kumar, President of the Pakistan Cardiac Society (PCS).

“This is not only a public health challenge but a national development issue — a sick workforce cannot carry the nation forward”.

Dr Kumar underscored that sedentary lifestyles, poor nutrition, smoking, uncontrolled diabetes, and lack of awareness around heart health were key contributors to the worsening situation.

He emphasised the need to shift from reactive treatment models to proactive prevention, starting with widespread public health education and professional training.

The call to action was issued during the PCS “Leaders Track” session held in Sukkur, an advanced academic event organised in collaboration with Pharmevo — a pharmaceutical company.

The event brought together cardiologists, physicians, trainees, and students from across Sindh to discuss complex cardiac cases, diagnostic strategies, and region-specific challenges in heart care delivery.

Dr Kumar noted that a major barrier to improving outcomes is the shortage of trained cardiologists in peripheral areas, coupled with delayed diagnosis and limited access to advanced procedures.

“We must educate not only our patients but also healthcare providers — and that’s the aim of Leaders Track,” he said. The session featured detailed case presentations, multidisciplinary panel discussions, and interactive learning on interventional cardiology, diagnostics, and treatment protocols. Participants explored the burden of cardiovascular disease in rural areas, highlighting the critical need for better screening programmes and stronger primary healthcare infrastructure.

Dr Syed Fayyaz Mujtaba, Coordinator of the PCS Larkana Chapter, who led local arrangements for the event, said such academic activities in smaller cities were crucial for bridging the knowledge gap. “Bringing programmes like this to Sukkur ensures that doctors outside major urban centres stay updated on best practices and evolving guidelines,” he said.

“Through our collaboration with PCS, we’re proud to enable knowledge-sharing platforms that can directly improve patient care, he noted, adding that Pharmevo was focused on long-term partnerships with medical institutions to uplift healthcare standards across Pakistan.

In his closing remarks, Dr Kumar emphasised the need for sustained action. “Training sessions like these must become a regular feature across the country. We cannot wait for doctors to come to learning — we must take the learning to them,” he said, urging both the public and private sectors to invest more in preventive cardiology, screening initiatives, and community outreach programmes.

1- Header image: A speaker addresses PCS “Leaders Track” session held in Sukkur. — Reporter

Courtesy: Geo News/AFP

Investing in women’s health transforms families and economies, says Bill Gates

Microsoft founder Bill Gates’s charity organisation, the Gates Foundation, has announced a new $2.5 billion commitment through 2030 to fund a new era of women-centred health research and innovation.

According to the release, the investment — the largest ever in women’s health by the foundation — will support more than 40 innovations in five key areas, particularly those affecting women in low- and middle-income countries.

The funding, announced via a press release, aims to address the chronic underfunding of women’s health research and development (R&D).

A 2021 analysis by McKinsey & Company found that just 1% of healthcare research and innovation is invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology.

The new initiative will focus on obstetric care, maternal health and nutrition, gynaecological and menstrual health, contraceptive innovation, and sexually transmitted infections, the release stated.

“For too long, women have suffered from health conditions that are misunderstood, misdiagnosed, or ignored,” said Dr Anita Zaidi, president of the Gates Foundation’s Gender Equality Division. “We want this investment to spark a new era of women-centred innovation — one where women’s lives, bodies, and voices are prioritised in health R&D.”

Meanwhile, Gates, the chair of the foundation, emphasised that investing in women’s health has a lasting impact on families, economies, and the world.

“Investing in women’s health has a lasting impact across generations. It leads to healthier families, stronger economies, and a more just world,” said Gates.

“Yet women’s health continues to be ignored, underfunded, and sidelined. Too many women still die from preventable causes or live in poor health. That must change. But we can’t do it alone.”

Furthermore, in the release, the foundation highlighted that its investment will support promising innovations such as research into the vaginal microbiome, new treatments for preeclampsia, and non-hormonal contraception.

“The five priority areas were selected based on a combination of data and evidence about where innovation can save and improve the most lives, direct insights from women in low- and middle-income countries about their needs and preferences, and the persistently high rates of misdiagnosis caused by gaps in medical knowledge and training,” it said.

By addressing these gaps, the foundation hopes to unlock broader social and economic gains, with research showing that every $1 invested in women’s health yields $3 in economic growth.

1- Header image: Pakistani health worker speaks with pregnant women at a healthcare centre in the town of Sharda in the mountainous Neelum Valley. — AFP/File

Courtesy: Geo News/AFP/Reuters

Analysis reveals that each additional hour of daily screen time increases risk of diseases, including diabetes

Children who spend too much time in front of screens, whether phones or TVs, have an increased risk of heart and metabolic disease, according to a Danish study published Wednesday.

The study tracked the screen consumption and sleep habits of more than 1,000 10-year-olds and 18-year-olds, with researchers examining the relationship between screen time and cardiometabolic risk factors.

“Children and young adults who spend excessive hours glued to screens and electronic devices may have higher risks for cardiometabolic diseases, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and insulin resistance,” said the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Subsequently, they face a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases or diabetes, the researchers found.

The analysis revealed that each additional hour of daily screen time increases the risk of disease.

“This means a child with three extra hours of screen time a day would have roughly a quarter to half a standard-deviation higher risk than their peers,” lead author David Horner, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, said in a statement.

“Multiply that across a whole population of children, and you´re looking at a meaningful shift in early cardiometabolic risk that could carry into adulthood,” Horner added.

Researchers are divided on the potential harmful effects of screens on children and adolescents, but the majority agree that younger populations are more at risk compared to adults.

1- Header image: Children watch educational content on tablets at a preschool. —Reuters/File

Courtesy: Geo News/AFP/Reuters

Amount of plastic produced by world has risen from 2m tones in 1950 to 475m tonnes in 2022, says report

Plastic pollution is a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger” to health that is costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year, experts warned in a report on Monday.

The new review of the existing evidence, which was carried out by leading health researchers and doctors, was published one day ahead of fresh talks opening in Geneva aiming to seal the world’s first treaty on plastic pollution.

“Plastics cause disease and death from infancy to old age and are responsible for health-related economic losses exceeding US$1.5 trillion annually,” said the review in The Lancet medical journal.

Comparing plastic to air pollution and lead, the report said its impact on health could be mitigated by laws and policies.

The experts called for the delegates from nearly 180 nations gathering in Geneva to finally agree to a treaty after previous failed attempts.

Philip Landrigan, a doctor and researcher at Boston College in the United States, warned that vulnerable people, particularly children, are most affected by plastic pollution.

“It is incumbent on us to act in response,” he said in a statement.

“To those meeting in Geneva: please take up the challenge and the opportunity of finding the common ground that will enable meaningful and effective international cooperation in response to this global crisis.”

The researchers also warned about tiny pieces of plastic called microplastics, which have been found throughout nature — and throughout human bodies.

The full effect of microplastics on health are not yet fully known, but researchers have sounded the alarm about the potential impact of this ubiquitous plastic.

The amount of plastic produced by the world has risen from two million tonnes in 1950 to 475 million tonnes in 2022, the report said. The number is projected to triple by 2060.

Yet currently less than 10% of all plastic is recycled, it added.

Landrigan said that the world’s plastic “crisis” is connected to its climate crisis. Plastic is made from fossil fuels.

“There is no understating the magnitude of both the climate crisis and the plastic crisis,” Landrigan said.

“They are both causing disease, death and disability today in tens of thousands of people, and these harms will become more severe in the years ahead as the planet continues to warm and plastic production continues to increase,” he said.

The report also announced a new effort to track the impact plastic pollution has on health, the latest in a series called The Lancet Countdown.

1- Header image: Large amounts of rubbish made from plastic can be seen washed-up on the shores of the harbour at Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, November 19, 2018. — Reuters

Courtesy: Geo News

Regular intake of chips linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes than having baked, boiled or mashed potatoes

An international team led by a Harvard University public health expert has found a shocking link between consuming chips regularly and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Seyed Mohammad Mousavi examined the link between potato consumption and the disease, analysing food questionnaires from 205,000 US health professionals collected every four years between 1984 and 2021, The Guardian reported.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that consuming chips three times a week was associated with a 20% higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Eating them five times a week increased the risk by 27%. In contrast, having baked, boiled or mashed potatoes with the same frequency raised the risk by only 5%.

Researchers stressed that potatoes themselves do not pose a direct health threat, but frying them to make chips — often with added fat, salt and large portion sizes — is linked to a greater likelihood of a diabetes diagnosis.

“The high starch content of potatoes, leading to a high glycaemic index and load, combined with possible loss of nutrients and possible health risks resulting from various cooking methods, could contribute to adverse health outcomes,” the study noted.

The findings also showed that replacing potatoes with whole grains lowered the risk of diabetes by 8%, while substituting chips with grains reduced it by 19%. However, swapping potatoes for white rice increased the risk.

Dr Kawther Hashem, a lecturer in public health nutrition at Queen Mary University of London, said: “Potatoes can be part of a healthy diet, but it’s how we prepare them that makes the difference. Boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes are naturally low in fat and a source of fibre, vitamin C and potassium.

“But when we deep fry them into chips or French fries, especially in large portions and with added salt, they become less healthy with their high-fat, salt and calorie content that’s much more likely to contribute to weight gain and increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.”

Globally, potatoes are the third most commonly consumed food crop after rice and wheat. In the UK, nine out of 10 of the estimated 5.8 million people with diabetes have the type 2 form, which is closely linked to lifestyle and diet.

The researchers emphasised that their findings were observational and did not prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. The Food Standards Agency and the Department of Health and Social Care declined to comment.