Pakistan, where chronic myeloid leukemia constitutes around 80% of all myeloproliferative disorders, has been exploring multiple avenues in order to ensure the accessibility and affordability of imatinib and nilotinib. While most provinces of the country have joined hands with a pharmaceutical company to dispense free anti-CML medicines as part of a public-private partnership, the patients are still facing numerous challenges in the form of geographical disparity in the availability of these medicines, other out-of-pocket expenditures and most importantly, the uncertainty associated with the long-term continuation of this public-private endeavor due to procedural delays. In light of these predicaments, channeling resources towards research and development, fostering partnerships between government and NGOs and tapping into the domain of compulsory licensing appear to be the most sustainable solutions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe global focus on curbing the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced the overall immunization rates worldwide. This, coupled with increasing malnutrition and strained healthcare, has increased measles cases and mortality globally. Many countries are thus facing outbreaks, with Afghanistan having reported 372 deaths between January and September 2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of mortality globally. Wald and Law proposed the idea of a "polypill"; a fixed dose combination therapy (FDC) in the form of a single pill to curb the CVD epidemic. Such a drug would include the combination of a broad spectrum of drugs including cholesterol lowering drugs, antihypertensive drugs, antiplatelet drugs, anticoagulation drugs, and antiarrhythmic drugs, which are frequently integrated to combat specific CVDs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe urgency for telemedicine is felt during the COVID-19 pandemic which has rendered the world shut by enforcing quarantines and lockdowns. Many developing countries including Pakistan have inadequate telehealth care services that limited access to rural and remote areas. A cross-sectional survey was carried out among medical students i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStud Health Technol Inform
April 2017
In Pakistan, the biggest challenge is to provide high quality education to the individuals with learning disabilities. Besides the well known affordance issue, there is a lack of awareness regarding the term dyslexia and remedial teaching training that causes the identification as well as remediation of the dyslexic individuals at early stages in Pakistan. The research was focused to exploit the benefits of using the modern mobile technology features in providing a learning platform for young dyslexic writers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF