NEW YORK: Prime Minister of Pakistan Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has called upon the international community to build resilience against future pandemics through legally binding commitments, Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday.
Speaking at the high-level meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response at the UN in New York, the PM said Pakistan thinks that the issue of pandemic preparedness, prevention and response can be addressed in a better way through a legal treaty mandated by the World Health Assembly.
Scientific discovery must be available to all nations: PM
The Prime Minister added any scientific discovery, which is crucial to save lives, should be available to all countries and companies.
He further said that the commercial or private companies should not be put in-charge of determining vaccines or medial production and distribution rather the process should be carried out through intergovernmental negotiations under the supervision of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The Prime Minister also stressed on global commitment to remove trade barriers, enhance supply chains, ease the movement of medical and public health items, expand manufacturing, capacity across regions and promote technology transfer for developing nations.
He said financing national, regional and international health emergency preparedness would need approximately US $ 30 billion per year.
