Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal on Monday called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and briefed him on ongoing and upcoming projects in the health sector.
During the meeting, they discussed matters related to the ministry, according to a PM Office press release.
The prime minister appreciated the ministry’s efforts regarding ongoing reforms in the health sector and its initiatives to eradicate polio, hepatitis, and other fatal diseases.
A high-level meeting chaired by Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal reviewed progress on key decisions and initiatives discussed during the recent World Health Assembly (WHA) meetings in Geneva.
According to the Ministry of Health spokesperson, the meeting was attended by senior officials, including the Federal Secretary Health, Additional Secretary Health, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) and CEI of the National Institute of Health (NIH).
The participants reviewed progress on commitments, partnerships and initiatives agreed upon during the WHA and discussed measures to ensure their effective implementation. Speaking on the occasion, Mustafa Kamal emphasised that commitments and partnerships forged at the global level must be translated into concrete outcomes through timely and effective implementation.
The meeting also reviewed progress on local vaccine production in Pakistan. The minister directed officials to expedite all necessary steps to finalize an agreement with Indonesia in the field of vaccine production, describing Indonesia as Pakistan’s leading partner in efforts to establish local vaccine manufacturing capacity.
He instructed DRAP and the NIH to accelerate all required measures to advance local vaccine production, stressing that domestic manufacturing of vaccines against thirteen major diseases had become an urgent national necessity.
Future funding of vaccine programmes under Gavi was also discussed during the meeting, with participants reviewing ongoing engagements and sustainability plans for immunization initiatives.
In addition, the meeting assessed for progress under the National Health Support Program. Mustafa Kamal described the programme as the government’s flagship health initiative, aimed at improving access to quality healthcare services and ensuring better health facilities for the public across the country.
The minister directed all relevant departments and institutions to accelerate efforts on priority health initiatives and ensure the timely achievement of targets set under national and international health commitments.