Lahore, March 16, 2023 (PPI-OT): A two-day International Conference on Health Security (ICHS) has strongly recommended promoting community engagement in health emergency preparedness and response through education, training and participation in decision-making processes. Federal Minister of Education and Professional Training for Pakistan Rana Tanveer Hussain presided over the concluding ceremony of conference while Advisor Higher Education Commission (CPEC) Lt Gen (R) Muhammad Asghar, UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad (SI), Director General CPEC (HEC) Dr Safdar Ali Shah, Principle KBCMA-CVAS Narowal Prof Dr Younus Rana, Organizing Secretary (ICHS) Conference Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani while renowned veterinary and medical practitioners, scholars, researchers and academicians experts from different countries, including Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the USA and across Pakistan participated physically and virtually in ICHS.
Addressing the audience in the concluding ceremony, Rana Tanveer Hussain urged working on the dairy sector by utilizing modern technologies to enhance milk and meat production. He said strong linkages are required to fill the gap between consumer’s demand and product quality research. He said such conferences are necessary for the development of livestock sector. He advised that climate change must be included in the curriculum to address climate issue in Pakistan. He lauded UVAS for arranging the conference.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Dr Nasim Ahmad said that Health Security (ICHS) under CPEC provided us unique opportunities to jointly work with Chinese well-known universities for our capacity building in the areas of dairy and meat products processing and value edition. He also mentioned the role, ranking and historic importance of UVAS in Pakistan to uplift of livestock sector in Pakistan. Earlier, Prof Dr Joon-Seok Chae from College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University Republic of Korea presented the recommendation of the conference while Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani presented vote of thanks.
Organised by the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore in collaboration with Higher Education Commission (HEC) and under the umbrella of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the conference also recommended promotion of collaboration and information-sharing among countries, governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to foster a comprehensive and coordinated response to global health threats.
The experts urged that there is a dire need for the international collaboration among countries to address health security challenges through sharing of knowledge, resources, and adapting good practices and ensure equitable access to essential technologies, including vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan. They also called for enhancing the capacity of veterinary and healthcare systems to deliver quality healthcare services during emergencies outbreaks, floods and other natural disasters.
The production of livestock is decreasing due to the stress of the climate change which is very alarming for the food security. Zoonotic importance of various diseases needs to be highlighted and human, veterinary and environment dealing components should be sensitized along with the public at large. National health security plans should also be looked as a civic responsibility rather than considering it the sole responsibility of the government, they added.
It is need of the hour that national security as perceived in the Constitutional Framework should be revised and redefined to include emerging, re-emerging and other transboundary diseases of human and animal as one of the main threats to the health security and food security of the human population. During two days’ conference 24 international and 60 national speakers joined virtually and 64 research papers were presented in the conference.
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