Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Ms Sherry Rehman, who also holds the portfolio of health, conferred with the US Secretary for Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, for boosting co-operation between the two countries in the health sector.
During her 45-minutes meeting, Sherry Rehman informed the US Secretary that the newly elected government is keen to broaden co-operation with United States in all areas including economy, trade and social sectors. This was clearly reciprocated in new legislation being introduced in the US Congress by Senator Joseph Biden and Richard Lugar of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Sherry Rehman informed her counterpart about the challenges being faced in the health sector and sought US assistance in training medics, vaccine production and providing technology to overcome these challenges.
She said that resource constraints had restricted government's efforts for preventive treatment for several infectious diseases. Cases of Polio, which had been eradicated from the country, have resurfaced. This was a cause of concern to the government, she said. The Lady Health Worker programme is a success story.
This, the minister said, is a community-based programme, which has been mobilised in the country to provide primary health care to the mother and child. Mike Leavitt told Ms Rehman that the United States values the role played by Pakistan in the war on terror and evinced his keen interest in extending all possible assistance to Pakistan in the health sector.
He observed that while the United States provides assistance to other countries it goes unnoticed as most of it is routed through multilateral organisations. Both, Ms Sherry Rehman and Mike Leavitt agreed that bilateral assistance and co-operation between the two countries would be much more effective.
This will not only improve relations between the two peoples but also help in better utilisation of the funds. Sherry Rehman extended an invitation to Mike Leavitt to visit Pakistan which he accepted with pleasure and expressed his desire to visit Pakistan at the earliest.