ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will inaugurate the Global Health Security Summit (GHSS) in Islamabad today (Wednesday) which is being attended by around 70 health ministers, heads of missions and delegates to discuss a strategy to deal with future pandemic preparedness, climate change and emerging public health threats.
“Pakistan is holding the global health security summit on 10th and 11th for continued advocacy to insist for equity-based pandemic preparedness and response. We are advocating for availability of vaccines and transfer of technology to the low and middle-income countries to effectively deal with pandemics and threats to global health security”, caretaker federal health minister Dr. Nadeem Jan told a news conference in Press Information Department (PID) on Tuesday.
Accompanied by Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi, Dr. Nadeem Jan said Pakistan is also wishing for a global pandemic charter to be signed at the culmination of health security summit, adding that it will not only improve our country’s image but also develop the confidence of the international stakeholders in Pakistan’s health sector and its capacity to meet challenges of an unprecedented scale.
“Transfer of technology for the vaccines development is one of the most important demands we are making for the last few years as not only Pakistan but most of the countries of the world are unable to produce vaccines for their populations”, he said new vaccines should not be patent protected.
Demanding health to be made a-political, he said people of Gaza were being denied health facilities as most of their health facilities were destroyed, ambulances were targeted and health workers were killed.
Conceding that Pakistan’s own health security system was very weak and vowed to ensure prevention of HIV, Hepatitis B&C and other vector and water-borne illnesses in the country.
He maintained that during Covid-19 pandemic global health security came on world’s agenda and entire world started discussing the challenges to global health security but as the pandemic receded, issues related to threats to the world health security put on backburner. Pakistan, however, has taken the lead in alarming the world that the worst may yet to come, he added.
“No one is safe until everyone is safe. Virus doesn’t need a passport. It has a visa for every country. So, please protect your people”, he said and added that in order to deal with future threats, world leaders need to sit together and come up with a strategy to ensure health security around the globe.
“Second, we are also advocating for a sustainable financing mechanism to ensure fast track financial disbursement to countries which are most affected due to pandemics and outbreaks”, he said and adding that Pakistan is also advocating for vaccine equity so that all the countries of the world have equal availability of vaccines for their people.
The health minister maintained that slogan for the summit is “Together for a Healthy Planet” and the key thematic areas of the summit include impact of global health security on national security, pandemic preparedness and response, climate change and emerging public health threats, multi-sectoral coordination in context of one health and sustainable financing based on equity for Global Health Security, the health official said.
“Access to Universal Health Coverage platform to achieve SDG3 as well as ensuring vaccine equity, patent deregulation and transfer of vaccine manufacturing technology are also some of the key areas to be discussed during the moot”, he added.
According to the health minister, key strategic objectives of the summit are to collaborate with global leaders in order to ensure equity-based pandemic preparedness, financing for low and middle-income countries, mutual exchange of knowledge as well as sharing experience with member states and experts around summit thematic areas including vaccine equity, patent deregulation and transfer of technology.
“The conference is also aimed at securing global, regional partnership with international organizations for aligning health security priorities with those of global and regional priorities in order to strengthen core capacities through technical assistance”, he maintained.
A future ‘global health security charter’ will be signed in order to build up a narrative for equity-based pandemic treaty based on equity-based global financing facility on the mutually agreed upon “Islamabad declaration”, he said, adding this will be done for making health systems resilient enough to showcase health security by putting up a coordinated “One Health response” to any threat.
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