ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's health ministry announced on Wednesday it had partnered with a Chinese video-sharing platform, TikTok, to promote awareness about COVID-19 prevention and the country's vaccination program.
TikTok has been frequently banned in Pakistan for disseminating content produced by its users that local authorities say is both "immoral and unlawful."
The company recently announced it was going to increase the number of Pakistani content moderators by 300 percent to prevent the circulation of undesired video clips in the country.
The social media platform remains highly popular with the Pakistani youth, which explains the health ministry's decision.
"MNHSRC [Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination] has partnered with TikTok to launch an awareness campaign for COVID-19 prevention," the ministry said in a Twitter post. "We have officially joined TikTok (https://tiktok.com/@nhsrcpk) and will be using the platform to disseminate information about COVID-19 prevention and our vaccine programme."
Fahad Khan Niazi, who works as the public policy manager in Pakistan for TikTok's parent company, welcomed the decision and announced the platform's full support to the government's COVID-19 awareness campaign.
Pakistan has already vaccinated 25 percent of its total population against the coronavirus.
However, health authorities in the country want the official immunization drive to gain greater momentum, especially amid rising concerns about the omicron variant of the virus.