Solidarity in pandemic more important than ever

Islamabad : In the current times of crisis, solidarity is more important than ever, so the German government has made available 6.5 million euros to support two bilateral technical cooperation measures in Pakistan.

According to German Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck,

Firstly and in view of the challenges the world has to face due to COVID-19, Germany as part of Team Europe decided to upscale its support to local Pakistani governments in their fight against the pandemic.

The German government has made available 0.5 million euros to promote activities that contribute to mitigating socioeconomic effects of the pandemic on a local level.

Moreover, in these testing times, it is more important than ever to focus on the vulnerable parts of society and therefore, Germany will commit six million euros to support Pakistani communities which host Afghan refugees to improve local health and education services. The projects will be implemented by the German development organization Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“COVID-19 pandemic has shaken the world unexpectedly – and we will continue to feel the socioeconomic consequences of the virus for quite a long time.

"Showing solidarity with each other during these trying times is the responsibility of us all," he said.

The envoy said the pandemic highlighted the importance of access to health and education and stressed the necessity to support the weakest parts of society.

He said Germany was looking forward to supporting Pakistan in its efforts to overcome the crisis and to build back better – for a more sustainable future.