Pakistani health experts say China sets example in COVID-19 control, cooperation

ISLAMABAD, Sept. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani health experts on Thursday said China has set a good example for the world in its successful control of COVID-19 and cooperation with other countries to help them overcome the pandemic.

Speaking during the 11th Annual Public Health Conference organized by Pakistan's Health Services Academy, participants said that by effectively controlling COVID-19, China has set a good example for the world.

China has shown its ability to make the best use of healthcare technology to trace the affected patients and control the coronavirus epidemic, Ayesha Isani, head of the radiology department of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad said.

Speaking to Xinhua on the sidelines of the forum, Isani, said that China's vaccine support during the pandemic enabled Pakistan to vaccinate its frontline healthcare workers and played a major role in stopping the COVID-19 situation from getting worse in the Asian country.

"It made all the differences, and the disease was controlled at the base level, and later the way China cooperated in vaccine technology and medical technology is really commendable," she said, hoping that in the future there will be more cooperation between the two countries not only in pandemic control but also in other sectors including the introduction of artificial intelligence in the medical field in Pakistan and transfer of technology to control more diseases.

Muhammad Shahbaz, a panelist at the public health conference, who studied in China and has been working to promote cooperation between Pakistan and China in the medical field, said that China has helped Pakistan to kick off its vaccination drive and enabled Pakistan to produce COVID-19 vaccine locally through cooperation with a Chinese company.

In a conversation with Xinhua on the sidelines of the forum, Mirza Inam-ul-Haq, professor from the Rawal Institute of Health Sciences, Islamabad, said that "China became the role model for the world in controlling the disease, and many other countries followed the footsteps of China regarding the control of this pandemic."

He noted that China has produced "very effective vaccines which became the first choice of the people of Pakistan amid the available vaccines of all other countries, due to their good results."

Addressing the forum via video link, Li Hao, an associate professor at China's Wuhan University, stressed the important role that Chinese traditional medicine has played in China's fight against the pandemic.

China and Pakistan have had good and deep-level cooperation in combating COVID-19, Li said, adding that the Chinese and Pakistani governments, universities, and enterprises can have wider exchanges to bring further forward cooperation between the two countries in the public health sector.