{"id":3481,"date":"2026-10-10T04:35:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T04:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/?p=3481"},"modified":"2026-10-10T04:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T04:35:51","slug":"karachis-unplanned-growth-blamed-for-mounting-public-health-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/10\/10\/karachis-unplanned-growth-blamed-for-mounting-public-health-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Karachi\u2019s unplanned growth blamed for mounting public health challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

KARACHI<\/strong>: Expressing concerns over Karachi\u2019s administrative fragmentation and unplanned expansion, speakers at a discussion on Friday warned that these problems were hindering climate adaptation and leading to worsening health outcomes.<\/p>\n

The session, titled \u2018Climate Change, Urban Issues and Health Management,\u2019 was part of the 8th Biennial Conference (ICON 2026) currently in progress at the Indus Hospital & Health Network (IHHN).<\/p>\n

The discussion was moderated by senior pulmonologist at IHHN Dr Sohail Akhtar.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the occasion, leading environmental specialists, medical academics, government officials and media experts called for urgent steps to tackle Karachi\u2019s growing civic challenges, including environmental pollution, chronic water shortages and rapidly growing population.<\/p>\n

They regretted that there had been no concrete progress on the Sindh Health Policy, demanding a comprehensive and uniform health policy for the whole of Sindh.<\/p>\n

Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development Secretary Faisal Ahmed Uqaili stated that administrative fragmentation and unplanned expansion were hindering climate adaptation in Karachi.<\/p>\n

The city\u2019s infrastructure, he pointed out, is mostly unplanned as hundreds of housing schemes have emerged without proper civil utilities.<\/p>\n

Explaining administrative institutional gaps, he said: \u201cThe city is currently run by 26 different administrative agencies, creating excessive disconnects. Until all stakeholders are on the same page, change cannot be expected,\u201d he said, stressing that climate and health challenges required a think tank comprising government, academia and civil society to review data and build evidence-based solutions.<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Dr Zafar Zaidi, Dean, Indus University of Health Sciences, warned that Karachi\u2019s failure to design urban environments was directly leading to worsening health outcomes, including surges in vector-borne diseases like malaria, cardiovascular complications, and severe sewage contamination.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have failed in terms of planning, but we must start now by identifying clear accountabilities and responsibilities,\u201d Dr Zaidi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery intervention must be researched with a long-term vision \u2014 asking what will benefit the next two generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addressing policy lags, Dr Zafar Fatmi, Professor & Section Head, Environmental, Occupational Health and Injuries, Aga Khan University, shared that Sindh\u2019s health policy was only recently updated after remaining stagnant since 2010.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcademia\u2019s primary output is publication, but policy impact requires academia and government to jointly frame problem statements,\u201d he explained, emphasising the need to bridge the multi-sectoral policy gaps within state institutions.<\/p>\n

Climate medicine expert Dr Paul Charlton pointed to international frameworks such as the Lancet Countdown toolkit, which equips healthcare professionals to collaborate with policymakers in high-density, climate-vulnerable cities like those in Pakistan. \u201cThere are proven, evidence-based solutions globally,\u201d Dr Charlton emphasised. \u201cHealthcare professionals need to analyse health costs, receive formal training to communicate with media and government leadership and actively showcase Pakistan\u2019s climate-health data on global platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Highlighting positive shifts in governance, senior journalist-cum-environment activist Afia Salam said that government departments were beginning to collaborate, as seen in recent pre-monsoon cross-departmental exercises.<\/p>\n

However, she urged policymakers to pay urgent attention to practical climate impacts on vulnerable groups \u2014 such as schoolchildren exposed to heatwaves during peak afternoon hours and lady health workers whose field functionality was severely compromised by extreme heat.<\/p>\n

She also noted that mainstream media faced institutional barriers when state entities withheld critical data.<\/p>\n

To counter this, Dr Fatmi advocated for specialised health communication workshops for journalists while Dr Zaidi emphasised translating complex climate findings into local, accessible languages and empowering youth to drive climate awareness.<\/p>\n

The speakers agreed that a climate-resilient city was ultimately a healthy city, while calling for immediate cross-sectoral accountability, evidence-based policymaking, a centralised co-created think-tank, and active media engagement to tackle the severe breakdown in urban planning across Pakistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KARACHI: Expressing concerns over Karachi\u2019s administrative fragmentation and unplanned expansion, speakers at a discussion on Friday warned that these problems were hindering climate adaptation and leading to worsening health outcomes. The session, titled \u2018Climate Change, Urban Issues and Health Management,\u2019 was part of the 8th Biennial Conference (ICON 2026) currently in progress at the Indus […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3473,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[102],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pakistan"],"yoast_head":"\nKarachi\u2019s unplanned growth blamed for mounting public health challenges - Diplomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/diplomag.com.pk\/index.php\/2026\/10\/10\/karachis-unplanned-growth-blamed-for-mounting-public-health-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Karachi\u2019s unplanned growth blamed for mounting public health challenges - Diplomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"KARACHI: Expressing concerns over Karachi\u2019s administrative fragmentation and unplanned expansion, speakers at a discussion on Friday warned that these problems were hindering climate adaptation and leading to worsening health outcomes. 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