Centre opens for health emergencies

Will deal with Covid-19, dengue outbreaks and polio control

ISLAMABAD:

An integrated Public Health Operation Center for responding to all types of public health emergencies was launched on Monday in Islamabad by the Directorate of Health Services (DHS).

The operation centre has been developed with meager resources to address different emergencies in the federal capital, Health Services Director General Dr Hasan Arooj said at the opening of the center.

He said that the operation center has the potential to expand and work under unified command and control. That unique model would work to control Covid-19, dengue, polio and other public health emergencies in future.

The DG said that Islamabad has been registered in the World Health Orgnisations (WHO's) healthy city programme after untiring efforts to make the city safer. He shared that the burden of dengue patients has been less 10 times from the surrounding areas in urban Islamabad in the last nine years.

"Islamabad is polio free for last 14 years due to the hard work of worker's supervisors, inspectors, vaccinators, and front line professionals was the core behind this success", DG said.

WHO Country Head Dr Palitha Mahipala appreciated the concept and establishment of integrated Public Health Operation Center under one roof at Directorate of Health Services of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation. Mentioning the importance of public health surveillance he said the main role of the center is to control disease.

He said that operation center will go a long way in achieving integrated response towards public health epidemics. Three major emergency issues were being dealt at present i.e. Covid-19, dengue prevention and control and polio eradication in the operation center, DG told WHO representative in a briefing.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2020.