Timely decisions: WHO supports Pakistan's flattened curve, says official

There is no nation in the world that can claim it was not caught off guard by the novel coronavirus, but some have been more adept than others at containing it. In the case of the latter, success has boiled down to informed decisions and timely risk communication and management.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, senior officials involved in Pakistan’s Covid-19 containment effort outlined how the country tackled the biggest health crisis the world has seen in recent times.

“It was something new for all of us. Not only for us but the United States, China, Italy, Russia and Germany – you name it – since no one knew how to respond,” admitted the official who spoke on condition of anonymity since he was not authorised to speak to the media. “As such our response, in the early days, was somewhat ad hoc.”

But as soon as the World Health Organisation (WHO) started sharing and updating its guidelines and standard operating procedures (SOPs), authorities in Pakistan were able to adapt quickly, the official said. “The health ministry immediately started following WHO protocols and adopted a risk communication strategy that entailed disseminating Covid-19 awareness messages via radio, television, newspapers and even phone call tones.”

In collaboration with WHO and Unicef, authorities dealing with Covid-19 measures, including the National Institute of Health (NIH), established call centres to respond to coronavirus queries, documents shared with The Express Tribune showed.

“Technical messages, information, education and communication material for advocacy and community awareness was provided by the WHO and other partners,” the documents read.

“Since it was difficult for health experts to accurately chart Covid-19 behavior, SOPs were communicated daily,” said Professor Dr Faizullah Jan, Chairman Department of Journalism and Mass Communication University of Peshawar.

“This was one of our first responses to the infection,” an official from the NIH informed. “Technical guidelines, reporting tools and Pakistan’s comprehensive and innovative response helped flatten the curve.”

Besides alerting people and sharing the risks with the general public, the documents shared by the official also revealed that the WHO utilised an already existing structure for polio for Covid-19 case definition and sampling.

“We have had the first WHO-produced daily situation report by January 29, along with technical support and guidelines for infection prevention and control,” the official said. “We also conducted a hands on training session for around 1,800 healthcare providers from different categories.”

This was followed up by effective case management practices along with introducing SOPs for clinical care and ramping up testing, the official added.

“Thanks to a timely comprehensive government response supported by the WHO and our other partners, Covid-19 cases are steadily declining in the country at the moment,” he concluded.