NIH launches three mega initiatives

Islamabad : Thursday was a happening day at the National Institute of Health (NIH), which launched three major initiatives to enhance Pakistan’s preparedness and response capacity vis-à-vis the national public health system. The initiatives were the National Health Laboratory (NHL), the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Secretariat, and Transformation and Excellence Center for Health (TECH).

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan inaugurated the new initiatives and centers of NIH. The NHL has been established to enhance the country’s capacity in the diagnosis, surveillance, preparedness, and response of communicable and non-communicable diseases. Pakistan will now test all types of specimen within the country rather than having to send them specimen abroad for diagnosis.

The GHSA Secretariate will help improve the ability to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease outbreaks in a systematic manner, while TECH will drive digital transformation of the health system and services in Pakistan. It will guide, support and develop IT-centric healthcare delivery projects for the Ministry of National Health Services. These projects will ultimately lead to improved health care delivery and health equity.