GAVI team meets president and PM

ISLAMABAD: A delegation of the Global Alliance for Vaccine and Immunisation (GAVI), called on President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Monday.

The delegation was led by Jens Stolenberg, former Norwegian prime minister.

The president praised GAVI’s services for immunisation against and elimination of polio, hepatitis B, childhood tuberculosis and other diseases throughout the world.

President Musharraf thanked the delegation for supporting the Pakistani government for carrying out extensive immunisation campaigns through expanded of immunization (EPI) and child immunisation programmes. Mr Stolenberg expressed satisfaction over various immunisation campaigns in Pakistan and assured the president of his organisation’s continued assistance. The government was focusing on preventive healthcare to eliminate the root causes of deadly diseases like hepatitis, said Mr Aziz.

“We are guided by our conviction that a holistic approach in the health sector will lead to the desired results in a comparatively short time,” a press statement quoted Mr Aziz as saying. He said the government’s commitment to primary and basic healthcare was firm and vital. “We believe that overall improvement in living standards will ultimately bring about improvement in the heath sector.”

The prime minister said on preventive side the government emphasising a safe drinking water supply and better sanitation facilities. “From here, we can move to the curative side with greater ease and facility,” he added. The prime minister lauded the GAVI’s contribution towards the health sector. He said the country expected the organisation’s continuous support to realise its goals in medi-care and health sectors. staff report

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