ISLAMABAD, Jun 25 (APP):Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Thursday said that Pakistan is fighting COVID-19 through a robust coordinated national response.
He said this in a meeting held through video link with Regional Director of the World Health Organization Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari along with his team of senior officials of WHO Regional Headquarters in Cairo.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss Pakistan’s COVID-19 response and explore areas where WHO could provide technical guidance and support to the country.
Mirza was accompanied by Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar, Head of the National Emergency Operation Centre.
Speaking about political commitment in Pakistan to fighting the disease, Dr Mirza said this was the highest level of uninterrupted political attention to a health-care issue.
He said Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs the National Coordination Committee with all Provincial Chief Ministers as members. The National Command and Operation Centre was established in March with top leadership discussing each aspect of the response thread-bare every day.
Pakistan was implementing smart lockdowns rather than a generalized lockdown as the prime minister was cognizant of the financial hardship for around 25 percent of the population living below poverty line, he added.
Mirza said currently 543 lockdowns are in place across Pakistan while 35 standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been developed and the public is being educated through a strong risk communication initiative.
Strict action is being taken against those who do not adhere to the SOPs, he shared.
“We have ramped out our health system to cater to critical cases and done so with unprecedented speed. We are ensuring better governance and strong coordination to implement our National Action Plan against COVID-19 in letter and spirit.”
Mirza called for global regime for air travel in the context of COVID-19 to allow for uniform policy across the world laying out specific requirements and conditions for international travel.
He made special mention in the guidelines being developed for the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha by the government and sought WHO Regional Chief’s guidance and support in that regard.
Mirza thanked WHO for supporting Pakistan and made special mention in this context of WHO Country Office led by Country Representative Dr Palitha Mahipala.
Earlier, head of the National Emergency Operations Centre made a detailed presentation on Pakistan’ National Action Plan on COVID-19.
Regional Director WHO, Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari appreciated the effort being made by Pakistan, the largest country in WHO EMRO region, in fighting COVID-19.
He expressed all out support of his organization for the government of Pakistan in that regard.