Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: United Kingdom (UK) would provide more support for Pakistan to detect and respond to disease threats with the help of a new team based at the British High Commission.

Public Health England is working with the government of Pakistan, government of Punjab and the UK Aid body, Department for International Development to help Pakistan improve its ability to deal with current and emergent public health threats, said a press statement issued on Monday.

The team will work with local authorities in Islamabad and Lahore to set up an Integrated Disease Surveillance System (IDSS), which means Pakistan will be able to detect, verify and respond to national and global disease threats and health alerts before they become epidemics.

Public Health England CEO Duncan Selbie has visited Islamabad and Lahore to launch the new team and to discuss priorities with members of the governments of Pakistan and Punjab.

Following a meeting with the Duncan Selbie, the British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew CMG said, “I am delighted that Public Health England has set up a team at the British High Commission in Pakistan. Early detection, verification and response to disease threat is vital to saving lives, keeping people healthy and Public Health England has unrivalled skills and experience”.

He said that this is only possible because of the vision and commitment of the governments of both Punjab and Pakistan. He said that UK would be able to work together to save many lives in the future.

The new Public Health England team visited to Pakistan following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Public Health England CEO Duncan Selbie and the Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif. The work is being supported with £1.85 million, about Rs 277 million of the UK Aid funding.