National Herald Tribune

PM calls upon bridging gap between Global South, North in health sector

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RIAYDH, (NNI): Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday while terming the global inequity in health sector as 'the first and foremost problem' called upon bridging the widening gap between the Global South and the Global North.

Expressing his views in a session of the World Economic Forum (WEF) regarding global health, the prime minister said that the Covid-19 pandemic had exposed the existing gaps largely between the Global North and Global South in terms of provision of health facilities and distributi­on of vaccines.

He said that the climate change issue had also completely changed the landscape.

Pakistan was not responsibl­e for any emissions in the world, he said, adding but in the year 2022, it witnessed the worst climate triggered floods which hugely devastated the infrastruc­ture and buildings and as consequent­ly, they had to spend billions of rupees to rehabilita­te the affected people.

Prime Minister Shehbaz said that for the rehabilita­tion efforts, they sought costly loans. "Can a developing country like Pakistan afford it?" he questioned and observed that for provision of health facilities, a developing country like Pakistan required resources.

"The yawning gap between the Global South and the

Global North should be bridged," he emphasised.

Sharing his personal experience­s, the prime minister said that treatment for the fatal disease like cancer was too costly for the poor population of Pakistan.

He said that as a chief minister of Punjab, he had provided about 130 million inhabitant­s of the province with best medical treatment initiative­s like screening and treatment facility for Hepatitis in the remotest and backward areas of the province where the poor people had been in dire need of basic facilities like education and health. The prime minister further informed that as the former chief minister, he also establishe­d the first kidney and liver hospital in Punjab which was probably one of the best in Asia where the poor patients were provided with free of cost treatment.

About Dengue outbreak in 2011 in the province, he shared that the phenomenon in the health sector was one of the biggest in the world.

But they got experts and equipment and with the cooperatio­n of entire government machinery, civil society and common man launched a massive drive against the dengue larvae, he added.

"They were able to control the outbreak with collective efforts and meagre resources," he said, adding that it was a test case for the global study in health sector.

 ?? ?? RIYADH: Saudi Minister for Finance H.E. Mohammad Al Jadaan calls on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum.
RIYADH: Saudi Minister for Finance H.E. Mohammad Al Jadaan calls on Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of a special meeting of the World Economic Forum.

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