Pakistan has stressed the need for a joint global strategy and response to fight the pandemic and called for an uninterrupted and even supply of vaccines globally for early eradication of the coronavirus pandemic.
To highlight the successful efforts of the government against Covid-19, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) organised a briefing session on Thursday for members of the diplomatic corps and international organisations based in Islamabad, a statement from the NCOC said.
It said that NCOC chief and Federal Minister for Planning, Development, Reforms and Special Initiatives Asad Umar outlined multiple dimensions of Pakistan’s national response.
The participants were given a detailed briefing, showcasing Pakistan’s response to Covid-19 which also highlighted various strands of the country’s strategy to tackle the pandemic, the statement added.
The briefing included an appraisal of the current level of disease in Pakistan vis-à-vis its prevalence regionally and globally. The participants were also briefed on various aspects of the "smart" and "micro smart" lockdown strategy as well as its success in containing the spread of the disease.
According to the NCOC, statistics on disease outlook, vaccination strategy of the government, the ability of the health care system to cope with the existing requirements as well as its future capacity building were highlighted during the meeting.
Umar stressed the need for a joint global strategy and response to fight the pandemic and called for an uninterrupted and even supply of vaccines globally for the early eradication of the pandemic.
National Coordinator NCOC Lt Gen Hamood Uz Zaman, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood were also present on the occasion.
The participants thanked for the comprehensive briefing and appreciated Pakistan’s efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the disease in the country, the official communique further said.
Separately, Asad Umar in a tweet on Thursday said that the health and well being of citizens from around the world cannot be held hostage to global geostrategic rivalries.
Asad Umar said countries choosing which vaccines are acceptable for travel to that particular country are creating chaos. "Vaccine acceptability decisions have to be taken by a global institution like WHO (World Health Organisation)," Umar added.