ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia’s ministry of health last week awarded Pakistan doctor Zia Ullah Khan Dawar with a medal to recognize his work as one of the “captains” of the Kingdom’s COVID-19 team, Dawar said on Monday.
Pakistani doctor Zia Ullah Khan Dawar pictured at his office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 12, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Zia Ullah Khan Dawar)
Dawar, a public health specialist, has been living in Saudi Arabia for the past four years, working on programs to stem tuberculosis, dengue fever and malaria. He is currently working with the kingdom’s health ministry in Jeddah as part of a COVID-19 surveillance and data analysis team.
“Saudi Ministry of health gave awards to doctors and health professionals in recognition of 100 days of their services in fighting against the virus and I am one of the foreign doctors [awarded],” Dawar told Arab News. “I am feeling so proud to get the recognition of my services. I come from North Waziristan [a northwestern region in Pakistan], so it is not only an honor for me but for my area and for Pakistan.”
“We were working in a mobile team which is a challenging and risky job,” Dawar added. “Whenever any positive case was reported, we immediately had to go to the site and do the needful.”
Saudi Arabia has recorded over 232,000 COVID-19 cases since March while 2,223 have died of the virus.