Pak-Turkey cooperation also growing in health sector: Envoy

Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey Sohail Mahmood has said that the multi-faceted relationship between Pakistan and Turkey is flourishing in diverse fields, including in the health sector.

He was speaking to a delegation from the Punjab Public Health Authority (PPHA), led by its Chief Executive Officer Dr. Shabnam Sarfraz at Pakistan Embassy in Ankara, said a press release issued here on Thursday.

Ambassador Sohail Mahmood apprised the members of the deep historical and cultural roots of Pakistan-Turkey relations and their steady growth in all domains, including political, economic, investment, defence, cultural and educational fields.

“The newest area of collaboration is the health sector,” he said, adding that improved and efficient health services positively affected the lives particularly of disadvantaged people and that the leadership in both countries was committed to supporting health sector reform initiatives in Pakistan.

It may be recalled that during the visit of Chief Minister Punjab Shahbaz Sharif, to Istanbul in August 2016, the Governments of Turkey and Punjab had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for closer cooperation in the health sector. Subsequently, a number of other legal instruments were concluded between the two sides including an Action Plan for collaboration in health sector reform.

The eight-member Punjab Government delegation is visiting Turkey in the context of learning from the Turkey's successful experience in health transformation. Among other things, the delegation is studying the disease survillence and response system.

In the recent past, considerable progress has been made in benefiting from Turkey's knowledge and practices in improved service delivery in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare; pilot design of family health system; health emergency response; hospital management; and nursing and paramedic education and training. Over the past few months, several delegations have visited Turkey for short-term training and capacity-building.