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Pakistan extends universal health coverage to an additional 51 million people in the last decade: WHO report
On Universal Health Coverage Day, the World Health Organization calls on all stakeholders to prioritize investment in health and provide relief to over 14 million people still facing catastrophic health expenditures in Pakistan. A doctor visits a patient in a medical facility in Pakistan. 15 December 2025, Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan has...
HIV infections rise in Pakistan; WHO and UNAIDS call to action
On World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the Ministry of Health join hands to urge collective and individual action against a public health threat affecting 350 000 people in Pakistan – 80% of whom are unaware of their HIV status. WHO Representative in Pakistan Dr Luo Dapeng, Pakistan’s Health Director General Dr Ayesha...
Global and national experts concur: ending polio in Pakistan – and the world – is within reach
Prominent specialists convened by WHO and the Aga Khan University in Karachi conclude that all available evidence corroborates that Pakistan is close to eliminating the global health threat of polio; while warning that the recent detection of poliovirus in Germany shows that the cost of inaction far exceeds the cost of action. International and...
Pakistan launches nationwide measles-rubella vaccination campaign to protect 34 million children
WHO Representative in Pakistan joined the Federal Health Minister, UNICEF and partners during the launch of a national measles-rubella campaign in Islamabad. Photo credit: WHO/Sara Akmal ISLAMABAD, 19 November 2025 – The Government of Pakistan’s Federal Directorate for Immunization (FDI) – in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, UNICEF, and...
Antimicrobial resistance contributes to 200,000 annual deaths in Pakistan; WHO and the NIH call for action
The National Institute of Health and the World Health Organization announce the Eastern Mediterranean Region’s first national priority pathogen list to combat antimicrobial-resistant infections. The National Institute of Health and WHO lead a symbolic walk to start Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week. Photo credit: WHO/Sara Akmal. 18 November...
WHO and Pakistan initiate consultations to protect 112 million children from violence
The Ministry of Human Rights and the World Health Organization are leading discussions with all provinces and partners to establish a national plan to address and prevent all forms of violence against children. Consultations for the Strategic Action Plan on Violence Against Children concluded in Islamabad on 14 November. Photo credit: WHO/Maryam...
WHO and Pakistan warn that diabetes already affects 1 in 3 adults in the country
The World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health urge all Pakistanis to follow lifestyle recommendations and prevent the risks of a disease afflicting 34.5 million people in Pakistan, the highest proportional burden globally. A health worker conducts a diabetes rapid test in during a screening activity organized by WHO and the Ministry of Health...
WHO trains 140 000 health workers ahead of Pakistan’s drive to protect 35 million children from measles and rubella
The World Health Organization is partnering with the Government of Pakistan to prepare a nationwide preventive campaign scheduled from 17 to 29 November 2025. Health workers attend a WHO-led training session for the measles and rubella campaign in Balochistan province, Pakistan. Photo credit: WHO 30 October 2025, Islamabad, Pakistan – The World...
Empowering youth to bridge the mental health gap in Pakistan
Annum Tanveer, a clinical psychologist, conducts a counselling session with students from a community school in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Photo credit: WHO Pakistan 25 October 2025, Islamabad, Pakistan – “Awareness about mental health is important to address the stigmas around it,” said Sejal, a psychology student at the National University of...
Dr Chris Schmotzer: “I wanted to work in a country where more medical services were needed”
The Medical Director of the Rawalpindi Leprosy Hospital in Pakistan recalls what inspired her, 4 decades ago, to leave Germany and move 6000 km to serve the most vulnerable 9 October 2025, Islamabad, Pakistan – Islamabad, Shortly after completing her medical studies in 1988, Dr Chris Schmotzer, a German physician, travelled to Pakistan to serve the...
