Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed the formation of a joint working group between the Government of Pakistan and the Global Fund to strengthen efforts for the prevention and control of HIV and improve coordination between the two sides in tackling the growing public health challenge.
The decision was announced during a meeting between Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and a high level delegation of the Global Fund led by Mark Edington, Head of the Grant Management Division, at the Prime Minister’s Office in Islamabad.
The delegation also included Senior Portfolio Manager Izaskun Gaviria and Deputy General Counsel Natasha Heffinck.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan highly values its longstanding partnership with the Global Fund and acknowledged its significant contribution to improving public health outcomes in developing countries.
“Pakistan considers the Global Fund an extremely important partner in strengthening the country’s healthcare system,” the prime minister said, adding that the government remained fully committed to eliminating HIV, tuberculosis and malaria through coordinated national efforts.
He said the Global Fund’s support had strengthened Pakistan’s capacity to combat the three diseases and reiterated the government’s determination to further accelerate disease prevention and control programmes across the country.
The prime minister directed relevant authorities to establish a joint Pakistan-Global Fund working group on HIV prevention and control to improve coordination, identify emerging challenges and develop sustainable strategies for reducing new infections and expanding access to treatment services.
During the meeting, officials from the Ministry of National Health Services briefed the delegation on ongoing efforts to control HIV, tuberculosis and malaria, including disease surveillance, prevention initiatives, diagnostic services and treatment programmes being implemented across the country.
According to officials attending the meeting, discussions also focused on the long term sustainability of Pakistan’s response to HIV, TB and malaria at a time when international health financing is under increasing pressure globally.
Members of the visiting delegation urged Pakistan to gradually increase domestic investment in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care of HIV, TB and malaria, noting that global funding for the three diseases is shrinking and that countries would need to assume greater ownership of their response programmes in the coming years.
Officials familiar with the meeting said the Global Fund representatives appreciated Pakistan’s efforts against the three diseases but stressed that stronger domestic financing and national ownership would be essential to sustain progress and protect vulnerable populations.
The Global Fund delegation thanked the Government of Pakistan for hosting the visit and praised the country’s efforts to tackle HIV, tuberculosis and malaria. The delegation also reaffirmed its commitment to continuing collaboration with Pakistan and supporting national programmes aimed at reducing the burden of the three diseases.
Pakistan remains heavily dependent on international assistance for its HIV response, while Global Fund support also plays a critical role in financing programmes for tuberculosis and malaria control. Public health experts have repeatedly warned that declining donor funding worldwide could threaten disease control efforts in low and middle income countries unless governments increase domestic investments and strengthen health systems.
Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq and senior government officials also attended the meeting.
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