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Pakistan attends OIC Steering Committee on Health video conference
Irfan Ali
10 April, 2020 15:23
Pakistan attends OIC Steering Committee on Health video conference today..
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza represented Pakistan.
While addressing the meeting, Mirza underlined the need of a collective international response to cope with challenges which COVID-19 pandemic posed.
Pakistan attends OIC Steering Committee
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation also issued na joint statement issued at the end.
OIC- Steering Committee on Health urged the member countries to exchange more information, experiences and capabilities to combat COVID-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Mirza said Pakistan had been actively engaged in containing the pandemic from its outset by taking several preventive measures.
The Special Assistant stated that planning and coordination efforts are being led by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself.
He further said that to ensure a unified national response, a robust institutional mechanism was set up under the National Security Committee (NSC) and National Coordination Committee (NCC).
Dr Zafar Mirza termed the pandemic both as a challenge and opportunity for introspection, especially on healthcare spending and emergencies’ preparedness.
He also emphasized the importance of health security as a key component of national security.
Moreover, he underlined the need to develop health regulations at international level and a legal framework at national level to enhance investment in healthcare security infrastructure.
The SAPM emphasized that OIC should strengthen its capacity to cope with this unprecedented challenge by exploiting comparative advantage of member States in the development of pharmaceutical products, vaccines and PPE.
He also highlighted Pakistan’s comparative advantage in the healthcare sector.
In his remarks, OIC Secretary General Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen highlighted the need for the OIC member States to take immediate and decisive measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
He expressed OIC’s readiness to utilize its available resources to help the peoples of the Islamic world in these difficult times and expressed appreciation to the Islamic Development Bank and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for their initiatives.
Pakistan is a member of the OIC-SCH. Other members include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Maldives, Mauritania, Chad, Turkey, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Sudan.
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