“We change our strategy as the pandemic evolves. We change our plans as cases rise and fall. WHO stands fully committed to provide unconditional support to the Government of Pakistan to strengthen its response to curtail COVID-19 pandemic is Pakistan”, stated Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan.[1] And this statement aptly describes the flexibility and involvement of WHO in supporting Pakistan to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a developing country with over 200 million inhabitants, Pakistan fared well in the first months of 2020. By the middle of the year, however, the confirmed cases begun to rise and reached a peak in June 2020. With the introduction of non-pharmaceutical Public Health measures, effectively advocating and encouraging communities to adopt hygiene practices, the COVID-19 virus numbers started to decrease, before levelling out at the higher average values at the year’s end. During ups and downs, and everywhere in between, WHO supported the Government of Pakistan to respond to the public health emergency by strengthening Surveillance system, enhancing lab testing capacity, strengthening Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Strengthening  points of entry, country level coordination, case management,  Risk Communication and Community Engagement (RCCE, maintaining essential health services and providing technical support to guide implementation of non-pharmaceutical measures 

Assisted by WHO, the Government adopted the Preparedness and Response Plan that guided measures and actions to come. The plan also served as a basis for mobilizing international support, while its mechanism ensured transparent coordination of funds. In addition to the time-proved tools, WHO made innovative steps, too. One of them has been the formation of a Think Tank that closely follows public health trends and advises on possible actions. Composed of members from academia, public bodies and ministries, the Think Tank combines different points of view to give informed opinions.

As the virus was spreading, measures and efforts were put in place to strengthen Pakistan’s surveillance and reporting system for the country-wide surveillance of infectious diseases. Pakistan has a surveillance system in place of more than two decades of experience with the poliovirus. Supported by WHO, this system was redirected for early case detection and reporting on COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to this, to ensure the adequate skills but also safety of health workers, WHO deployed 14 surveillance consultants, and trained 142 rapid response teams and 15,965 health workers. The similar was true for laboratories. WHO also donated 34 Real Time PCR Testing Machines to the Government of Pakistan to enhance the testing capacities of the Public Health Laboratories. Supported by WHO, Public Health Laboratories in Pakistan increased their testing capacities from less than 500 to over 100 000 tests per day. Similarly, WHO donated Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), hand hygiene products and antigen testing kits to the Federal and Provincial Health Ministries for curtailing the spread of COVID-19 virus across the country.  

Meanwhile, the Government of Pakistan has been informing the people on public health measures and personal hygiene recommendations, while fighting myths and misconceptions. Together with WHO, Pakistan launched the ‘WE CARE’ program, which gives motivational support and safety advice through videos, TV and radio. By November 2020, ‘WE CARE’ trained nearly 100 000 health workers.[2] And to deliver the message to the many, WHO partnered with social media platforms and reached out to media professionals, religious leaders, influencers and the people who recovered from COVID-19 to engage and inform communities.  

To further strengthen the response at country level, the various levels of WHO; Headquarters and Regional office, supported the country office through virtual meetings. This was instrumental to the country because required technical expertise was made available on time through these meetings.

Finally, COVID-19 did not stop Pakistan’s efforts to make essential health services available to the whole population. Although some services, like immunization, nutrition, maternal and child health slowed down, they caught up within few months. And the importance of other essential health services including mental health was reaffirmed during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure universal health coverage.  For instance, WHO supported Telemedicine as an alternative modality to provision of health services to the communities in the country.

Looking to the future, WHO and Pakistan started a serological study that assesses the presence of COVID-19 antibodies in the general population. Its findings will support public health policies in the year to come.  WHO has also supported the government with 36 ambulances and 150 motorbikes that will be useful for a comprehensive response to COVID-19 including support to vaccination. WHO reaffirms its commitment and support to the Government of Pakistan in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.