OUR WORK / HEALTHCARE

Communication that
moves health forward.

An award-winning healthcare and social impact portfolio, from childhood immunisation to corporate health education across Pakistan.

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The healthcare practice

Beyond campaigns. Conversations that matter.

From childhood immunisation to disease awareness and healthcare-worker engagement, we help make complex health issues understandable, credible and relevant.

Mediators has a long history of healthcare communications in Pakistan, connecting medical experts, institutions, industry, journalists and communities. Our portfolio combines strategic counsel and media relations with events, public education, stakeholder engagement and issues management.

Healthcare communication is strongest when it connects medical understanding with human experience.

Conceptual healthcare communication imagery with stethoscope, immunisation materials and a Karachi-inspired skyline

International recognition02IPRA awards received in 2017

UNICEF / SMACD1,200Student volunteers mobilised

UNICEF / SMACD103Awareness seminars conducted

Aventis / Diabetes26Cities reached through 138 events

01 / FLAGSHIP PROJECT — UNICEF2017 IPRA GOLDEN WORLD AWARDS

Student Movement Against Childhood Diseases

A movement that made immunisation everyone’s conversation.

One campaign. Two international honours. A community-first response to vaccine hesitancy.

Designed and implemented for UNICEF, the Student Movement Against Childhood Diseases (SMACD) mobilised university volunteers to discuss childhood immunisation with families and communities. As security risks affected polio outreach, the communications approach was broadened to cover multiple vaccine-preventable childhood diseases.

The campaign combined bilingual information materials, university seminars, community kiosks, school activities, radio discussions and on-the-ground awareness efforts. Media engagement helped extend its reach.

Golden World Award — Healthcare / AgencyGlobal Contribution Award — SDG 3

Read IPRA’s official recognition

Mediators Managing Director Dr Samia Khan Babar receives an IPRA Golden World Award from IPRA President Bart de Vries in Sofia, 2017 — Dr Samia Khan Babar receives the award from IPRA President Bart de Vries at the 2017 ceremony in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Campaign activity at a glance

13 radio programmes brought childhood disease awareness to broadcast audiences.
Nearly 60 student activities included public information and school theatre.
About 12,000 families were reached through student-led awareness and community conversations.

Explore campaign coverage

02 / SELECTED CLIENT WORK

Experience across healthcare challenges.

Our healthcare work includes specialist disease awareness, pharmaceutical communications, media relations and public-health partnerships.

Asthma inhaler used as contextual imagery for respiratory-care awareness — Image: NIAID · CC BY 2.0

GlaxoSmithKline / Long-term healthcare communications

Disease awareness & media engagement

Turning specialist medical subjects into public conversations.

Over more than eight years, assignments for GSK covered health education and communications across several therapy areas.

Asthma, COPD, diabetes, cervical cancer prevention and invasive pneumococcal disease.
Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy awareness through radio, television, articles and translated materials.
Corporate communications, CSR support, media interaction and crisis-related preparation.

8+ yrsof sustained healthcare communication and public engagement

Illustrative medical supplies and public health awareness material

Getz Pharma / Public health initiatives

Launches & issue-led communications

Supporting timely stories around health and community resilience.

Our work includes pharmaceutical launches, documentary production and communications supporting major health initiatives.

Communications for Care for Heroes during the COVID-19 response.
Launch communications around Rabies Free Pakistan, developed by Getz Pharma and the Indus Hospital network.
COVID-19 awareness, health-day engagement and medical-media activities.

Conceptual healthcare consultation supplies for diabetes and disease awareness

Aventis / Diabetes & cancer awareness

Large-scale multi-city mobilisation

Taking education beyond the major metropolitan centres.

The Aventis diabetes-awareness programme established the Amaryl Club and coordinated an extensive sequence of educational engagements throughout Pakistan.

138 events delivered across 26 cities in a single year.
Breast cancer awareness with leading oncologists and public-facing media content.
Survey-linked seminars and crisis media training for senior management.

138diabetes-awareness events across 26 cities

Illustrative South Asian community healthcare discussion

Unilever / Flora & heart health

Sustained community health programme

Combining expert engagement with everyday health information.

Mediators managed the Flora Heart Disease Prevention project across Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad over approximately 18 months.

Produced campaign information and communication materials.
Maintained engagement with cardiologists and general practitioners.
Supported seminars and the Tea & Health educational programme.

18 mocross-city heart-health awareness programme

03 / HEALTHCARE MILESTONES

Decades of work. Lasting impact.

Selected milestones from Mediators’ healthcare communications portfolio.

Contemporary professional conference auditorium, used as an illustrative visual

2009 / Government, doctors & industry

Healthcare policy & event leadership

First Health Conference 2009

Mediators organised the First Health Conference with support from Pharma Bureau. The programme brought together the Federal Health Minister, Secretary Health, DG Health, industry leaders and medical professionals for a health-sector dialogue.

2005–2006 / Asthma awareness

Independent news coverage

Making respiratory health part of the public conversation.

Mediators organised an asthma-awareness programme at Defence Authority Creek Club, Karachi. Consultant paediatrician Dr Naseeruddin delivered an educational presentation alongside a Health & Awareness Forum, connecting medical expertise with public discussion.

The initiative demonstrated early use of specialist voices, accessible medical explanations and a public discussion setting to improve understanding of asthma management.

Read the 2006 news report

Close-up of an asthma inhaler, illustrating respiratory health awareness — Image: NIAID · CC BY 2.0

Health workers participating in a 2014 polio vaccination campaign in rural Pakistan — Image: CDC Global · CC BY 2.0

2016–2018 / Cross-border public-health storytelling

International coordination

World Polio Day and the voices of Pakistan’s polio workers.

In 2016, Mediators coordinated with documentary producers and Pakistani polio workers whose stories featured at the World Polio Day event at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. Four workers received Louis Pasteur medals; Mediators also supported journalist identification and participation around the international programme.

Follow-on work included interviewing polio stakeholders and helping organise an international webinar connected to World Polio Day 2018, linking speakers and discussions across cities.

Pakistan polio programme context

2017 / Healthcare access & stakeholder relations

Health-system engagement

Novartis Access: connecting the right stakeholders.

Mediators facilitated meetings between the Novartis Access team and Punjab government stakeholders on approaches to noncommunicable diseases.

The Novartis Access initiative focused on conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, respiratory illnesses and breast cancer. The Punjab partnership brought health-sector stakeholders together around access to treatment.

Conceptual public-affairs and institutional engagement photograph

04 / RESEARCH & HEALTH SYSTEMS

Evidence, access & informed dialogue.

Our experience includes stakeholder research, professional engagement and health-sector communication programmes.

2011

Hepatitis-C stakeholder research

Stakeholder survey exploring awareness, knowledge and available treatment facilities.

2015

Injectable polio vaccine research

Stakeholder study undertaken for the introduction of IPV in Pakistan.

2020

Gavi-linked visual storytelling

More than 60 participants, many from Sindh’s immunisation workforce, were encouraged to join mobile-phone photography and video storytelling training.

2023

Clinical trial communications

A media engagement and awareness programme linked to COVID-19 medicine clinical trials involving ten hospitals and specialist and journalist sessions.

05 / FURTHER PROJECT EXPERIENCE

Focused programmes. Lasting experience.

Projects also extended into maternal and child wellbeing, hospital engagement, medical research communication and healthcare media readiness.

Wyeth Pakistan

Childcare awareness

Health-awareness seminars in nine major Pakistani cities, from Karachi and Hyderabad to Quetta, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.

Tetra Pak Pakistan

School-based education

Milk-awareness seminars organised in more than 80 Karachi schools, supported by school-level outreach.

Abbott & Smith Kline

Launch & medical PR

Selected work included healthcare product introductions, medical-media engagement, corporate events and an animated maternal-health documentary.

Clinical trials / 2023

Explaining research

Communications around COVID-19 medicine clinical trials targeted leading hospitals and included a launch press conference, three specialist sessions and three journalist-awareness sessions.

Polio & immunisation

Public-health dialogue

Work included an injectable polio-vaccine stakeholder survey, World Polio Day media facilitation and coordination of international expert discussions.

Health-worker storytelling / 2020

Stories from the field

More than 60 participants, many working in underserved Sindh communities, were encouraged to join smartphone storytelling training linked to broader Gavi immunisation communication.

Illustrative depiction of a South Asian healthcare worker speaking with a family during a community health discussion

06 / FROM STRATEGY TO THE FIELD

Making public health understandable.

Healthcare communications often demands more than a press release. Our assignments have brought together medical practitioners, field volunteers, media professionals, schools and communities to deliver credible information where it matters.

We have supported healthcare communications, regional outreach and stakeholder engagement across Pakistan.

KarachiLahoreIslamabadHyderabadQuettaPeshawarMultanFaisalabadRawalpindi

07 / A CONTINUING BODY OF WORK

Healthcare milestones over time.

Our experience spans long-term corporate healthcare communications and specific programmes aligned with changing health priorities.

1988 onward

Pharma foundations

Early work for Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Wyeth, Abbott, Schering, Hoechst and E-Merck built a long-running healthcare communications practice.

2005–06

Respiratory health

Mediators’ asthma-awareness programme was covered by the national business press, highlighting physician-led education.

2009

Health-sector dialogue

The First Health Conference brought Pharma Bureau, government health leaders, doctors and industry stakeholders together.

2014–17

UNICEF & IPRA

Student-led immunisation awareness evolved into a two-time IPRA award-winning campaign.

2016–18

Polio coordination

International World Polio Day documentary and media facilitation, followed by expert webinars.

2019–20

Community resilience

Communications for Getz’s Care for Heroes and Rabies Free Pakistan, and health-worker storytelling.

2023

Clinical research

Specialist and media awareness on COVID-19 medicine clinical trials.

08 / CLIENTS & COLLABORATORS

Healthcare relationships across generations.

The portfolio brings together longstanding pharma relationships, public-health collaborations and assignments spanning many decades.

Pharma Bureau (OICCI)

09 / HEALTHCARE COMMUNICATIONS, EXPLAINED

Frequently asked questions.

How our experience relates to public health, specialist communication and community engagement.

What healthcare communications work has Mediators delivered in Pakistan?

We deliver immunisation and disease-awareness programmes, specialist healthcare PR, medical-media relations, public education, stakeholder surveys, event management and crisis communications.

Which international PR awards did Mediators receive for healthcare?

In 2017, Mediators received the IPRA Golden World Award in Healthcare — Agency and the IPRA Global Contribution Award for the UNICEF Student Movement Against Childhood Diseases programme.

What did Mediators do for asthma awareness?

In 2006, Mediators organised an asthma-awareness programme featuring a specialist paediatrician’s public presentation and the Health & Awareness Forum.

What was Mediators’ role in the Novartis Access programme?

Mediators facilitated stakeholder meetings involving the Punjab government and the Novartis Access team in 2017.

Does Mediators work beyond Karachi?

Yes. Its historical healthcare portfolio includes programmes and stakeholder engagement in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and other regional centres, including 138 diabetes-awareness events across 26 cities for Aventis.

SELECTED MEDIA COVERAGE

IPRA 2017 award recognition ↗Aurora: the UNICEF campaign ↗Getz Pharma: Care for Heroes ↗Getz Pharma: Rabies Free Pakistan ↗Clinical trials media roundtable ↗Business Recorder: Mediators’ 2006 asthma awareness ↗Novartis: Punjab programme agreement, 2017 ↗UNICEF Pakistan: annual report 2016 ↗

FEATURED PROJECT CASE STUDY

UNICEF Childhood Diseases Campaign

A closer look at the student-volunteer programme Mediators developed for UNICEF and the campaign’s two IPRA awards in 2017.

Read the UNICEF campaign case study ↗

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