ISLAMABAD: While childhood tuberculosis (TB) affects over 93,000 children in Pakistan every year, the Common Management Unit (CMU) of Health Ministry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) will do collective efforts to save children from the deadly disease.

It was decided in a two-day consultation at WHO’s Country Office to enhance the response to childhood TB. The objective of the consultation was to align national policies with the latest WHO international guidelines to tackle an infection that is curable and preventable.

It is estimated that children account for at least 14pc of the total 669,000 TB cases registered in the country, which bears 73pc of the burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and is the fifth most affected in the world.

“Pakistan has prioritised paediatric tuberculosis as a critical programmatic gap, in line with recommendations of the Joint Program Review Mission 2025. The programme has advanced integrated, child-focused interventions, including standardised clinical diagnosis, systematic household contact investigation, and scale-up of TB preventive therapy, while embedding services within primary healthcare and child health platforms”, said CMU’s TB Program Manager, Dr Faisal Siraj.

“Children are among the most vulnerable to developing TB because diagnosing the disease is more challenging, and the risk of severe disease is higher compared to adults,” said Dr Florian Götzinger, National Implementer for MSF’s TACTiC initiative. “We are implementing new WHO diagnostic algorithms to support doctors in initiating treatment early, even when laboratory tests are unavailable or inconclusive.”

“Protecting children from TB is not only a medical responsibility — it is a moral imperative and an investment in a healthier and more prosperous future for Pakistan,” said WHO Deputy Representative in Pakistan, Ellen Thom, during the consultation.

Mental Health

Minister of State for Health, Dr Mukhtar Bharath, while addressing a mental health event organised by Health Services Academy and Bahria University, stated that the biggest gap in Pakistan’s healthcare system lies in the areas of prevention and health promotion, primarily due to the severe lack of public awareness.

He said that according to estimates, nearly 35 to 40 million people in Pakistan were living with various health conditions, including diabetes, hepatitis, and other chronic diseases. He said that the burden of these illnesses not only affects patients physically but also places immense psychological and emotional stress on families. As a result, millions of households across the country were facing mental health challenges and emotional distress at different levels.

Highlighting the alarming rise in suicide incidents, the Minister referred to various regions including Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and rural and urban areas of Punjab. He said that domestic violence, social pressures, and other socio-economic factors were contributing to the growing mental health crisis.

Dr. Mukhtar Bharath also announced that a major international event will be organised in Islamabad on the occasion of World Mental Health Day 2026, during which the National Mental Health Policy and mental health initiatives related to climate change are expected to be unveiled.

VC health service academy Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan emphasised that HSA was actively leading the national mental health agenda through strong collaborations at both national and international levels. “The Academy has established key partnerships with University of Liverpool and University of Manchester, strengthening research, capacity building, and knowledge exchange in the field of mental health”, he added.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2026