KARACHI: The 13th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) ENT Congress concluded here on Sunday, with health experts emphasising the need to share knowledge, expertise and develop guidelines for managing common disease patterns in the region.

The event featured extensive expert sessions covering a wide range of topics, including basic hands-on cadaveric temporal bone dissection, audiology and speech rehabilitation, and cadaveric head and neck surgery. Master trainers from various countries, including India, Sri Lanka, the US, Canada, and the UK, led these sessions.

Dedicated to the theme ‘Harmonising Oral, Head, and Neck Expertise Amongst SAARC Countries’, the three-day conference was held at a local hotel and attended by experts from all Saarc countries, including India, as well as Turkiye, the UK, the US and Canada.

It may be recalled here that the biennial event was hosted by Pakistan after a gap of 13 years. The previous conference was hosted by Nepal in 2022.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2024

Opinion

Editorial

Environment deficit
Updated 05 Jun, 2026

Environment deficit

Pakistan knows all too well the consequences of environmental neglect.
Rights concerns
05 Jun, 2026

Rights concerns

TWO recent news reports have highlighted foreign concerns about the state of human and labour rights in the country....
Patient care crisis
05 Jun, 2026

Patient care crisis

HEALTHCARE in Pakistan is a footnote. Claims by successive governments to introduce vast reforms with huge schemes...
Budget delay
Updated 04 Jun, 2026

Budget delay

With economic stabilisation yet to translate into tangible improvement in living standards, the country’s leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore demands for relief.
Absentee lawmakers
04 Jun, 2026

Absentee lawmakers

TWENTY per cent. That is the percentage of lawmakers whose commitment to their vocation is reflected in the time ...
Deliberate provocations
Updated 04 Jun, 2026

Deliberate provocations

THE latest events at Al-Aqsa Mosque reflect the growing impunity with which extremist Israeli settlers operate. ...