A high-level meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination reviewed progress on commitments made at the recent World Health Assembly and underscored the need for timely implementation of international partnerships. Present at the meeting were the Federal Secretary for Health, the Additional Secretary, the CEO of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), the CEO of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and senior ministry officials who took stock of ongoing initiatives.
The session carried out a detailed assessment of local vaccine manufacturing progress, with the Minister instructing that all steps be taken to finalise an agreement with Indonesia, described as Pakistan’s leading partner in vaccine production cooperation. Mr Kamal stressed that strengthening this partnership is central to boosting local capacity and achieving self-reliance in the health sector, and he asked DRAP and the NIH to accelerate regulatory and technical processes to support rapid scale-up of vaccine manufacturing.
Officials noted that producing vaccines domestically for thirteen major diseases has become an urgent necessity for Pakistan’s public health security. Discussions also covered future funding options under the Gavi framework to support vaccine programmes and the operational requirements needed to sustain local production and distribution. The Minister reviewed progress on the National Health Support Programme, calling it a flagship initiative aimed at expanding quality healthcare services nationwide and urging steady implementation.
In a separate review meeting on the Hepatitis C elimination pilot in Islamabad, the Federal Minister met with the Federal Secretary for Health, hospital heads and the District Health Officer Islamabad to examine current screening operations and elimination challenges. Participants were briefed on operational bottlenecks and outreach strategies, and the Minister emphasised Pakistan’s high Hepatitis C burden while reaffirming the government’s commitment to elimination.
Mr Kamal directed authorities to accelerate measures for Hepatitis C eradication, ensure maximum population screening coverage and intensify public awareness campaigns so more people come forward for testing. He urged hospital leaders to speed up treatment for those who test positive and reiterated that prevention remains paramount. The Minister appealed to residents to visit designated health facilities in Islamabad for free testing, stressing that the success of the pilot depends on coordinated action across institutions and active public participation.
