Staff Reporter
Four day meeting of WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region started Monday in Cairo-Egypt. The meeting is being attended via video link by country delegations led by Ministers of Health from the Eastern Mediterranean region of World Health Organization stretching from Pakistan in South Asia to Mauritania in North Africa.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan said the year 2020 has turned out to be significantly challenging. The Global Covid-19 Pandemic, unprecedented forest fires, devastating hectares of living and breathing forests, to the highest rainfall recorded, in the last one hundred years in the largest city of Pakistan, Karachi – have all laid bare the inadequacy of the governmental response to these momentous events, changing our daily lives at homes, place of study and work.
He said coronavirus pandemic has affected both developed and developing countries alike, and human kind is witnessing one of the deadliest historical events. This is the time, to better protect our people and work towards strengthen our health systems. It is important to realize, that all economic and social gains could be lost, if we do not have the capacity to respond to epidemics like Ebola, SARS, Zika and now Covid19.
Pakistan, through its coordinated efforts was able to mount a timely response, to the biggest health emergency of our times, with a whole of the government’s approach led by the Prime Minister Imran Khan. The strategy of smart lock downs, prohibitions of gatherings, TTQ, provision of live hood to most vulnerable and enhancing financing for Covid 19 emergency, he said.
