Dr Zafar Mirza apprises WHO of Pakistan’s key steps in fight against Covid-19

Islamabad : Pakistan is fighting Covid-19 through a robust coordinated national response, with 543 lockdowns in place across the country and 35 SOPs develpped as the public continues to be educated as part of a risk communication initiative.

This was stated by Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza on Thursday in a video link meeting 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. Dr. Zafar was accompanied by Dr. Rana Muhammed Safdar, Head of the National Emergency Operation Centre.

Speaking about political commitment in Pakistan to fighting the disease, Dr. Zafar said this is the highest level of uninterrupted political attention to a health-care issue. Prime Minister Imran Khan chairs the National Coordination Committee with all Provincial Chief Ministers as members, he said. The National Command and Operation Centre was established in March with top leadership discussing each aspect of the response thread-bare every day.

“Pakistan is 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. Strict action is being taken against those who do not adhere to the SOPs, “Dr. Zafar shared. He told the WHO Regional Director that the county has ramped out its 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 Adction Plan against Covid-19 in letter and spirit,” he added.

Dr. Zafar 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 of the guidelines being developed for upcoming Eid-ul-Azha and sought WHO Regional Chief’s guidance in this regard. Dr. Zafar thanked WHO for supporting Pakistan.

Earlier, Dr. Rana made a detailed presentation on Pakistan’ National Action Plan on Covid-19. Dr. Mandhari appreciated the efforts being made by Pakistan, the largest country in WHO EMRO region, in fighting Covid-19. He expressed all-out support of his organization in this regard.