“It is health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver,” wrote Mahatma Gandhi.

In my childhood, I often wondered why people said, “Health is wealth,” when wealth could seemingly buy good health. However, after the tragic demise of Michael Jackson, the world’s greatest singer, songwriter, and dancer, due to acute propofol intoxication on June 25, 2009—despite his efforts to live 150 years and his appointment of 12 doctors for daily examinations—I am certain the adage is true: health is indeed a great wealth.

As a Pakistani nationalist, it pains me to see our nation plagued by deadly diseases and countless other long-standing issues. Living in Pakistan often feels like being part of a warring nation. Here, medicine is almost treated as food, with a significant proportion of the population relying on it at least twice, if not thrice, a day.

In our country, it is government hospitals—not supermarkets or malls—that resemble bustling bazaars, perpetually overcrowded with patients. Those fortunate enough to afford the eye-watering bills of private hospitals are blessed, while others must endure the heart-wrenching struggle for........

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