Rizwan Ghani
REPORTEDLY, a WHO official has
ticked provinces of Pakistan on
Coronavirus. It is clear from the timing of letter that it has been issued because Special Advisor to PM on Health, having WHO experience, has been summoned in NAB investigation along with ex-Health Minister removed from office on charges of corruption. Bypassing of Federal Government also exposes the ulterior motives. The Government of Pakistan should turn the same letter into a charge-sheet against the WHO official who sent the letter and order an inquiry. Under international rules of business, organizations cannot have more powers than nations. The charge-sheet should be on following lines: WHO as per its Pandemic Influenza Risk Management Program (PIP) 2014-17 for Coronavirus (ILI, wildcard) and other illnesses approved Coronavirus preparations. That is why the funds for its preparations were released to Pakistan.
Since January 2020, Pakistan has been working under the same WHO pandemic program. For five months WHO did not give any warning as PM Imran Khan was guiding the public on a daily basis with the professional input of his Special Federal Health Advisor from WHO. The issuance of warning letters at this time when there is astronomical increase in Coronavirus cases is clear attempt by one WHO employee to save another employee. There was delay in giving early warning in December 2019 after complete silence on 2017 PIP frameworks and now suddenly the letter. The WHO has raised questions on ending of lockdown in Pakistan. But it has not questioned the ease of lockdown in the UK and US. If Science is the criteria for easing or imposing the lockdown, Pakistan’s R (virus reproduction rate) and K numbers (patients with Coronavirus symptoms responsible for 80% spreading who have been in big groups or gatherings) are no different from both countries. WHO should try writing Pakistan like good faith letter to countries and then see the reaction to its wrong lockdown policies due to which public is suffering.
The fact of the matter is WHO lockdown policy is wrong because countries including South Korea did not implement lockdown from day one. Today they are opening their economies whereas Pakistan is being asked to impose another lockdown. It will destroy Pakistan’s economy. RWCS has already warned of three waves which means more intermittent lockdowns and economic shutdowns. Lockdown was a second option meant for those countries that were not prepared. Five months have passed but progress on Covid-19 testing, anti-body testing, making shelters, equipping healthcare staff and familiarizing public with SOPs not at the scale on which the pandemic is unfolding. China developed 4.2 million daily testing capacity in the first three months including Covid-19 testing kit ($22) including reagents and allied material, inflatable labs with 5000-10,000 daily testing capacity and PPEs for its health staff and masks for entire population and export to rest of the world.
The WHO and its staff has been aware of NSRA UK so it begs the question why a letter was not written to Pakistan in 2019 and then to make China like preparations in February 2020. It would have cost a fraction of $8bn on its Coronavirus stimulus package instead of relying on clean chits of WHO and local health staff since 2017. Pakistan should adopt 5-steps (like SK and NZ) and adopt aggressive testing (100 m covid-19 tests in 10-minute drive/walk in test centres), another 100 million antibody tests, two million daily testing capacity, outdoor shelters for treatment and PPEs for healthcare. NZ has even done away with social distancing. $3bn spent now will save us another $8bn stimulus package and keep our economy open.
Hopefully, WHO will cooperate with the inquiry to bring an end to the culture of inefficiency, favouritism and corruption. Those writing the letter should be removed to end culture of staff level blackmailing of third world countries with fear of losing grants. Should WHO fail do so then Pakistan should ask donors and UN to stop giving aid through WHO and hold it accountable for transgression of role as coordinator for writing direct letters only to provinces of a third world country while sparing UK and USA for the same failures and results. This cherry picking couldn’t have been without the approval of DG WHO, who otherwise merits to be ousted for his Coronavirus failures. Finally, in view of the WHO letter the PM should replace his Health Advisor because he failed to control Coronavirus and prevent avoidable deaths. Then Pakistan should issue a charge-sheet against the WHO for issuing the letter to save its employee who totally failed to deliver professional services and covering the shortcomings in country’s pandemic preparedness as it was envisaged in WHO PIP framework 2017 and UK and US pandemic preparedness warnings.
—The writer is senior political analyst based in Islamabad.
