LAHORE: To mark the World Health Day 2026, a seminar was organised here on Wednesday under the theme ‘Together for health, stand with science’ - this year’s observance launches a year-long campaign celebrating the power of scientific collaboration to protect the health of people, animals, plants, and the planet.
The campaign spotlights both scientific achievements and the multilateral cooperation needed to turn evidence into action – through a strong focus on the One Health approach.
Addressing the provincial seminar held under the auspices of General Cadre Doctors Association in collaboration with Continental Medical College and Hayyat Memorial Hospital, Lahore, the chairman Continental Medical College Prof Dr Fareed Zafar said that human health has been profoundly transformed over the past century, largely due to scientific progress and international collaboration.
The global maternal mortality rate has fallen by more than 40% since 2000, and deaths among children under five have been reduced by over 50%. Advances in technology, scientific knowledge and skills, and collaboration between different disciplines, sectors and countries continue to turn once-life-threatening health challenges – such as elevated blood pressure, cancer diagnoses or HIV infection – into manageable health issues, extending and improving lives worldwide.
He added that the campaign calls on governments, scientists, health workers, partners, and the public to stand with science by engaging with evidence, facts, and science-based guidance to protect health, rebuild trust in `science and public health and support science-led solutions for a healthier future.
‘Science is one of humanity’s most powerful tools for protecting and improving health,’ said Dr Masood Sheikh President General Cadre Doctors Association.
He highlighted that our health has improved substantially over the past 100 years – thanks to scientific innovations.
The future will be shaped based on how we develop and practice science-led approaches for the health of all – not only humans, but also animals, plants, ecosystems and the entire planet – through the One Health approach. Progress in public health is built on global solidarity and collaboration.
He added that health threats continue to grow, fuelled by climate impacts, environmental degradation, geopolitical tensions and shifting demographics. These challenges include persistent diseases and strained health systems as well as emerging diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential.
Scientific progress has made safe surgical care accessible across the world, including in many resource-limited communities; over the past 50 years, global immunisation efforts have saved over 154 million children from infectious diseases.
Vaccines have contributed to a 40% reduction in infant mortality, with just one vaccine – the measles vaccine – saving over 90 million children; and progress in early screening technologies is transforming health outcomes. Across the globe, thousands of scientists are accelerating research and developing policies, tools and innovations needed to protect communities today and safeguard the health of future generations.
Ex-director of Hepatitis programme Punjab and Ex-MS of Dental HospitalDr Bakht Yawar said that WHO, over its 78 years of convening of global scientific organisations, has stood at the forefront of global health and scientific transformation. For example, during the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2003, WHO coordinated a global network of laboratories sharing real-time data.
This collaboration enabled the rapid identification of the virus causing SARS within two weeks, setting a global model for outbreak detection and response that continues today; in 2009, WHO developed alcohol-based hand-rub formulations and promoted its global adoption in health-care settings.
This innovation, along with related infection-prevention strategies, helps protect millions of patients and health workers worldwide from infections and complications, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
