Command and control centre set up to reinforce Covid response

The United States government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has established a command and control centre (CCC) for the Sindh health department, so as to assist it in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazl Pechuho and USAID provincial director for Sindh and Balochistan James Parys attended the semi-virtual inauguration ceremony of the centre, according to a statement issued by the US Consulate in Karachi on Thursday.

The command and control centre has been aimed at facilitating monitoring and decision making with regards to the coronavirus at present, and will serve a similar purpose while dealing with other public health threats in the future.

“The command and control centre will provide strategic and policy-level guidance to help in the prevention, detection and notification of infectious diseases,” said Parys at the inauguration ceremony.

The USAID has collaborated with the federal and provincial health departments in Pakistan to establish such centres to reinforce the government’s response to Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.

“Our collaboration on the response to Covid-19 builds upon the legacy of partnership and our shared goal to save lives through the delivery of basic, essential health services in the province,” said Parys.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2021.