Pakistan's minister applauds UAE health efforts in Pakistan

Pakistan’s Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Saira Afzal Tarar, has commended President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, for Their Highness’s efforts and support to the health sector in Pakistan, through the implementation of several health projects in different regions of the country.

The Minister made these comments during an exclusive interview with WAM, adding that the U.A.E.’s support for Pakistan goes back to the days of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who was a great supporter and true friend of Pakistan, she said .

"It was he who ordered the construction of the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore, and another in the city of Quetta. These two hospitals have contributed to meeting the needs of patients by providing treatment and medication to the people of those cities," she said.

Ms. Tarar also thanked the U.A.E. Government on behalf of the Pakistani Government, for the Pakistan Assistance Programme, PAP, a U.A.E. initiative to fight polio in KPK and Waziristan, which the Minister said was a gift that was much needed in those areas.

Speaking on the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak hospital that opened in North Waziristan, Tarar said that it was something that was desperately needed in that area and is supplying both locals and people from across Pakistan with high-standard emergency, maternity, childcare and other medical needs.

Commenting on the World Health Organisation report, in which Pakistan was listed as the only country in the world with increasing numbers of polio cases, with 91 cases in 2013 compared with 58 children contracting the disease in 2012, she said, "It is a fact that Pakistan is the only remaining country which exports polio." The Minster pointed out that 90% of the country is polio-free, and that the disease is now only found in Karachi, Peshawar and North Waziristan.

On the cooperation between the Ministries of Health in the U.A.E. and Pakistan, the Minister emphasised the need to continue developing the relationship between both sides to facilitate the work of teams fighting against polio in the country, in addition to cooperation in other areas in the health sector which she predicted will continue to grow.

The Minister went on to say that the most important challenge facing the Ministry of Health in Pakistan is providing vaccinations. "We have to focus on vaccinations and also on the quality and pricing of medicines, which should meet international standards," she said.