Pakistan hosts SAARC video conference on COVID-19

ISLAMABAD: Health ministers of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) took part in a video conference organized by Pakistan on Thursday to discuss coronavirus response in the region.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement after the meeting that all member states and the SAARC secretary general, Esala Ruwan Weerakoon of Sri Lanka, participated in the virtual session chaired by Dr. Zafar Mirza, the Pakistani prime minister’s special assistant on public health.
SAARC comprises Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It came into being in 1985 with a stated purpose of regional and economic integration.
Sharing Pakistan’s perspective, Dr. Mirza underscored South Asia’s vulnerability to the pandemic on account of its high population density, fragile health systems and rudimentary disease surveillance, according to the statement.
“Issues including real-time sharing of information and clinical data, capacity building and training of medical and paramedical staff, supply of medicines and medical equipment, research coordination and enhancing cooperation with frontline international organizations including the WHO (World Health Organization) came under discussion,” the statement read.
Proposals to fast-track creation of linkages among medical universities, academia and research institutions came under review. Pakistan proposed greater coordination among health authorities of SAARC member states and activating the SAARC Technical Committee on Health and Population Activities, the statement said, “It was agreed to enhance cooperation in the health sector, particularly in the context of efforts to combat the virus at the regional level.”
On March 15, SAARC leaders held an online meeting on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to devise a joint strategy to control the spread of coronavirus in the region.
At the online meeting, Modi proposed creating a COVID-19 emergency fund to be used by South Asian nations to combat the spread of the disease.
Pakistan on April 9 pledged $3 million toward the SAARC COVID-19 Emergency Fund to support regional efforts in the fight against coronavirus.