Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday while terming the global inequity in health sector as ‘the first and foremost problem’ called upon bridging the widening gap between the Global South and the Global North.
Expressing his views in a session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) regarding global health, the prime minister said that the Covid-19 pandemic had exposed the existing gaps largely between the Global North and Global South in terms of provision of health facilities and distribution of vaccines.
He said that the climate change issue had also completely changed the landscape.
Pakistan was not responsible for any emissions in the world, he said, adding but in the year 2022, it witnessed the worst climate triggered floods which hugely devastated the infrastructure and buildings and as consequently, they had to spend billion of rupees to rehabilitate the affected people.
Prime Minister Shehbaz said that for the rehabilitation efforts, they sought costly loans. “Can a developing country like Pakistan afford it?” he questioned and observed that for provision of health facilities, a developing country like Pakistan required resources.
“The yawning gap between the Global South and Global North should be bridged,” he emphasised.
Sharing his personal experiences, the prime minister said that treatment for the fatal disease like cancer was too costly for the poor population of Pakistan.
He said that as a chief minister of Punjab, he had provided about 130 million inhabitants of the province with best medical treatment initiatives like screening and treatment facility for Hepatitis in the remotest and backward areas of the province where the poor people had been in dire need of basic facilities like education and health. The prime minister further informed that as the former chief minister, he also established the first kidney and liver hospital in Punjab which was probably one of the best in Asia where the poor patients were provided with free of cost treatment.
About Dengue outbreak in 2011 in the province, he shared that the phenomenon in the health sector was one of the biggest in the world.
Meanwhile, PM Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday met the Amir of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting in Riyadh and discussed bilateral ties. The prime minister thanked His Highness the Amir for sending him a warm congratulatory letter upon his re-election.
While congratulating His Highness Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on assuming the role of Amir, the prime minister expressed his desire to work closely with His Highness to transform bilateral ties into a mutually beneficial economic partnership that would serve the best interests of the peoples of both countries.
Pakistan and Kuwait had signed a number of MoUs and agreements to deepen cooperation in trade and investment in November 2023. The prime minister assured the Kuwaiti leadership that these MoUs and agreements would be implemented in an efficient and timely manner.
