ISLAMABAD – President Dr. Arif Alvi has conferred the Award of ‘Hilal-e-Pakistan’ on Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates in recognition of his support for poverty alleviation and health care in the country.
A Special Investiture Ceremony to this effect was held in Islamabad which was attended by Federal Ministers, senior officials and members of Diplomatic Corps.
LIVE #APPNews : President Dr. Arif Alvi conferring the award of "Hilal-e-Pakistan" on William H. Gates alias Bill Gates, co-chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at a special investiture ceremony #Islamabadhttps://t.co/VwAI3OeWzq
— APP (@appcsocialmedia) February 17, 2022
Earlier in the day, Bill Gates called on Prime Minister Imran Khan during his day-long visit to the country.
Matters related to polio eradication, covid vaccination, IT projects and other issues were discussed in the meeting.
Gates along with his delegation also visited the National Command Operation Centre (NCOC) where he met forum chairman Asad Umar and PM’s aide on health Dr. Faisal Sultan.
He appreciated Pakistan’s success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints and introducing excellent initiatives and measures for public health safety.
Later, Bill Gates along with his delegation attended NCOC morning session. The delegation was apprised about NCOC’s role and methodology, achievements since the start of the pandemic, the recent Covid -19 situation across Pakistan and various NPIs placed by NCOC to control disease spread and ensure public safety and wellbeing. A comprehensive review of Pakistan’s efforts against Covid-19 was presented to visiting delegation.
The visiting delegation was also briefed on genome sequencing ( prevalence of various variants in the country ).
Bill Gates took a keen interest in various initiatives by NCOC particularly smart lockdown and micro smart lockdown strategy enforcement measures.
The visiting officials were also briefed about Pakistan’s vaccine administration regime, which enabled NCOC to formulate and implement a comprehensive Covid response.
Bill Gates shared his views on Covid-19, particularly vaccination drive.
Asad Umar, who also holds the portfolio of planning minister, acknowledged the efforts of Bill Gates and his foundation to support Covid -19 initiatives in Pakistan.
The minister attributed the success to a true national response, executed through an effective communication campaign mechanism of the NCOC, which helped build trust of masses on National COVID response and positive behavioural change to follow Covid protocols as outlined by NCOC.
