QUETTA: The parliamentary secretary for health and chairperson of the Provincial Task Force has said the World Health Organisation (WHO) has offered support for establishing more vaccination centres in Balochistan in order to expedite the Covid-19 test and inoculation process in the province.

Presiding over a meeting of the task force, Dr Rubaba Buledi said: “We are closely monitoring the situation in Balochistan. Looking at it from a broader perspective and taking into account the shortcomings of co-management in this whole process, we are moving towards optimising the strategy.”

She said it was necessary to train the local manpower to make efforts effective and lasting in Balochistan. She informed the meeting that the pilot phase of Universal Health Coverage Programme was being launched in nine districts of the province.

The Provincial Task Force, which includes senior officials from the home ministry, Provincial Disaster Management Authority, education and other relevant departments, has been set up to continuously review the situation in Balochistan.

Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO representative in Pakistan, told the meeting that her organisation had compiled a study report on the coveted outbreak in Ketch which compares the shortcomings in the context of the overall situation and offers suggestions for improvement.

She welcomed the suggestions made by Dr Buledi.

WHO representatives in Pakistan, along with other officials concerned, attended the meeting and reviewed the capacity of Covid-19 test and vaccination process in Balochistan.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2021