Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Kh Salman Rafique has said that the Eurasia Medical Expo Conference and medical fair in Turkey would help developing countries improve their healthcare systems, and that countries participating in the event were being given a great opportunity for increasing cooperation and developing an understanding of better healthcare.
He expressed these views while addressing the Eurasia Medical Expo Conference in Turkey and talking to the health ministers of various countries participating in the event.
The health minister further said that the world had become a global village and that no country could face healthcare challenges in isolation, adding that international cooperation was needed for the prevention and control of diseases.
Rafique acknowledged the help and cooperation of international development partners for the prevention and control of polio, measles, dengue, and other diseases in Punjab. The minister said that Punjab’s extended immunisation programme was very successful and that routine immunisation coverage had reached 85 percent through the introduction of various interventions including the E-VACCS system.
The ministers and delegations of various participating countries including Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Madagascar, and Kosovo also held meetings with the Kh Salman Rafique.
Minister Health Kh Salman Rafique also held a lengthy meeting with Turkish Health Minister Dr Recep Akdag along with his delegation and discussed matters of mutual cooperation in the field of healthcare. Rafique informed the Turkish minister that revolutionary initiatives were being undertaken for infrastructure development worth billions of rupees to ensure the provision of quality healthcare services to the people.
He appreciated the cooperation extended by the experts of the Turkish ministry of health for infrastructure development, infection control, improving emergency services, introducing the motorbike ambulance service, introducing the family medicine concept, cold chain management, and setting up of modern medicine and vaccine warehouses.
Dr RecepAkdag lauded the efforts of the provincial government to provide quality healthcare to the people of Punjab.
Members of the delegation from Punjab included Dr Sohail Saqlain, Dr Naeemud Din Mian, PSPU MD Muhammad Khan Ranjha, and Planning and Development Department Member Agha Waqar Javed.