The World Health Organisation on Saturday assured Pakistan of its full support in eradicating polio, hepatitis, and dengue fever from the country.
Margerat Chan, director general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), gave the assurance to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in a meeting on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum.
The prime minister said the dengue virus was a serious threat for the people of Pakistan, and mentioned the large number of deaths caused by the epidemic.
He praised the WHO’s support to Pakistan in natural disasters and other times of need. He asked Chan to consider setting up a WHO Dengue Collaborative Centre at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad. Gilani said the implementation of international health regulations remained a priority in Pakistan. He told Chan that Pakistan had taken significant legislative and enforcement steps to stop the unethical practices of organ transplant and had significantly reduced the tourism for this purpose. He admitted that there were some difficulties at the initial stage at the coordination level, however hoped that devolution of power to people at the local level would eventually lead to better provision of health facilities and services in the public sector.
