Despite an alarming rise in cancer cases over the past two decades in Karachi, there is no database on the disease that can lead to a better treatment, a report by the Dow University of Health Sciences says. It has raised concern over the failure to prepare a database which is essential to maintain in order for the effective treatment of malignancy. Keeping in view the grim fact that 22,858 cases of cancer at Dow Cancer Registry were reported between 2010 and 2019, the report has called on the authorities to devise proper strategies for cancer treatment and prevention.
The Dow registry has the largest network of diagnostic centers in the metropolis. Of the cases reported during the past decade, 60.1% comprised females and 39.9% males. Breast cancer topped the list of the cases followed by oral and esophageal (malignancy of the food passage) cancers. Oral cancer has the highest incidence among males mainly due to the consumption of tobacco products, so the report stresses the need for banning the use of the harmful substance. About cancer of the food passage, it asks the government to ensure the elimination of adulterated food ingredients. The incidence of skin cancers too is high in the city due to environmental pollution and its proximity to the equator. The report also highlights the rise in the incidence of brain cancer and malignancies related to the nervous system among children and the need to curb these types of the disease.
An early detection is of utmost significance in the treatment of cancer. Most types of cancer are fully curable if detected at an early stage. Unfortunately, due to superstition and ignorance, families of patients seek the help of exorcists, and physicians are consulted when it is too late. Superstition leads to increased suffering both for the patients and their carers. As for esophageal cancer, the food habits of people are largely to blame, as they mostly consume greasy food.
Champion for Nature
It is with great pleasure to announce that Pakistan, a country that remains resolute in the fight against climate change and global warming, will be awarded the title of ‘Champion for Nature’ at the 48th annual World Economic Forum meeting to be held between 23-26 January 2021. The acknowledgement not only highlights Pakistan’s current sustainable endeavours, such as the Billion Tree Tsunami, the creation of national parks, and the ban on plastic bags but also hints at the country’s future vision for a Clean and Green Pakistan. However, the fight against climate change is by no means that easy, and while a battle may have been won, the ultimate war still rages on.
A major flaw still remains — the authorities have facile knowledge about the climate crisis as a whole. Therefore, it is vital to understand the paradigms of climate change in its entirety, if one stands a change at being resilient against it. It is time to stop thinking and treating single catastrophes such as erratic monsoon seasons, the recession of the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalaya glaciers, more frequent and intense floods, and decrease in the already scanty forest cover as events in themselves. Rather, all these phenomena need to be thought of as a collective event or consequence, brought about by the abstract concept of climate change. In fact, it is not just Pakistan, but many governments around the world are using a conventional mindset to try and fight against the rather modern and unprecedented threat of extinction.
A small tweak in the way we think about the problem changes the whole dynamic, and while it is important to tend to such natural disasters one realises that collective action is desperately required. Else, all other initiatives will be futile. Here, the annual WEF meeting will be the perfect platform for the PM to push for change at a global scale. While it is too early to crown Pakistan as a victor, the award brings about a much-needed encouragement that may perhaps prove to be a driving force for the authorities to push even harder.
Truth prevails, sometimes
Politics is full of doublespeak. That is something we are all well aware of by now. Doublespeak is how a government as totalitarian as that of say North Korea can convince itself that the country it is in charge of is a ‘democratic people’s republic’. We can rail against the hypocrisies of those in power all we want. Many a time it is all we can do. But to expect governments, leaders, politicians and anyone else with power to mean what we say is tragically wishful and naïve. Still, for all their craftiness, even those in power slip up every once in a while. Now and then, governments and leaders will do something that betrays their own narrative for the truth.
Earlier this week, Amnesty International announced that it would be halting its operations in India. The move came after the government of Narendra Modi froze all assets that the highly respected human rights non-profit organisation had in the country. Amnesty International has long been vocal in highlighting human rights violations in a country that on the international stage prides itself for its pluralism and commitment to democracy. That image — which India cultivated for decades while masking its true human rights record — has been all but shattered over the past year and a half.
In many ways, Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party have revealed the true nature of India. Majoritarian movements led by firebrands do not sprout out of thin air. For all the condescension that India’s intellectual elite has viewed Pakistan with, they have conveniently ignored the extremism that flourished outside their own bubble in India.
Coming back to the matter at hand, the Indian government — by targeting and harassing Amnesty International — is unwillingly admitting the truth. The wonderful thing about liberal democracy is that they are only strengthened by criticism, even dissent. From the moment a government decides it can no longer tolerate its critics, no amount of ‘democratic’ slogans will save it from sliding towards fascism.
