WHO Country Representative Pakistan, Dr Palitha Mahipala met Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar and Minister for health Professor Dr Yasmin Rashid at the Chief Minister House in Lahore. Dr Mahipala handed over 8 ambulances and 15 motorbikes to the honourable Chief Minister.
Dr Mahipala also presented a shield to the Health Minister, Prof. Dr Yasmin Rashid in recognition of her strong leadership and commitment during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
During his address, Dr Mahipala appreciated the dedication and hard work of the Punjab health team in combating the COVID-19 pandemic and assured them of continued WHO support to Pakistan.
He said: “COVID-19 pandemic has identified the shortcomings of our health systems and highlighted the need to eliminate disparities in health and health care. WHO is trying hard to introduce practical and scalable multi-level health-interventions to improve access to and quality of care to achieve health equityin Pakistan.”
In his speech, the honourable Chief Minister Punjab expressed his gratitude to WHO Pakistan for donating the ambulances for Points of Entry, health facilities and managing critical cases of COVID-19. He thanked WHO for donating the motorbikes which will strengthen surveillance system and sample transportation in the high-risk districts of Punjab.
