President confers Hilal-i-Pakistan upon WHO DG for services in health sector
President Mamnoon Hussain Wednesday conferred Hilal-i-Pakistan upon World Health Organisation Director General Dr Margaret Chan in recognition of her outstanding services for the people of Pakistan in public health.
The award was conferred at a special ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The citation, read on the occasion, appreciated the role of Dr Chan towards strengthening cooperation between Pakistan and WHO and noted that during her tenure, the partnership between WHO and Pakistan gained strength, providing valuable technical support in a wide range of areas.
The ceremony was followed by a meeting wherein matters relating to cooperation between Pakistan and WHO, its role in fighting diseases in the country, measures taken by the government in the health sector, especially towards eradicating polio from the country, were discussed.
President Hussain, while congratulating Dr Chan on the award, appreciated WHO’s continued assistance to the country towards combating diseases and further strengthening health systems in the country.
The president said the health sector and quality health care to the people of the country were the foremost priorities of the government and every possible effort was being made to meet the challenges in the health sector.
Highlighting various efforts, the president said the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) was being further strengthened in the country to reduce illness, disability and mortality. He said besides focussing on communicable diseases, the government was also focusing on non-communicable diseases as currently the country was suffering from dual burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
The president said the government was working with international partners to improve healthcare system in the country and to enable access to quality healthcare.
The president highlighted measures being taken to fight the menacing disease, especially in those areas where polio campaigns were facing certain security problems. He expressed the hope that with unswerving political commitment, continued cooperation from international partners and involvement of all segments of society, the efforts would result in achieving significant milestones against the menacing disease.
Dr Chan thanked the president and the government of Pakistan for the award and said WHO has a very long association of with the country. She assured the president of continued support of WHO towards combating diseases and improving health care systems in the country.
