As we celebrate our 76th Independence Day anniversary, it is fitting to reflect on the progress we have achieved as a nation and the path that still lies ahead. The challenge however is what criteria one can employ to gauge a country’s progress. Many years ago, while teaching community medicine to medical students, I came across a poignant definition that was included in the introduction of the 1997 Unicef report entitled ‘Progress of Nations’. We have increased our life expectancy, brought down the incidence of certain communicable diseases and widened our health coverage. Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah had forewarned that no nation can progress without the equal participation of its women.

Source: The Nation August 30, 2023 09:31 UTC