On Monday, July 25, 2022, the United States and Pakistan hosted the US-Pakistan Health Dialogue at the US State Department in Washington, DC, to further deepen our robust bilateral cooperation in the health sector. The US side was jointly led by Assistant Administrator for Global Health Atul Gawande of the Agency for International Development (USAID) and Assistant Secretary for Global Affairs of the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Loyce Pace, and included representatives from the State Department, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Disease Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Federal Minister for National Health Service, Regulations and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel led the Pakistani delegation, which included officials from the Pakistan Drug Regulatory Authority, the Federal Directorate of Immunization and the Ministry of External Affairs.
The US-Pakistan Health Dialogue provides a framework for maintaining and strengthening health sector cooperation. Discussions focused on establishment of Pakistan CDC, global health security, child immunization, COVID-19, maternal and child health and non-communicable diseases. Both sides have identified areas of joint engagement and established an action plan to achieve common goals.
The Health Dialogue exemplifies the strong ties between the United States and Pakistan and underscores the depth and breadth of our bilateral relationship, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. During the dialogue, the United States also announced that it is donating 16 million doses of pediatric COVID-19 vaccines to Pakistan in partnership with COVAX, in addition to the 61.5 million doses of adult vaccines already donated. An additional $20 million from USAID is also planned to support vaccination efforts. The dialogue also highlighted the donation of four mobile testing laboratories by the United States through USAID to Pakistan’s National Institute of Health at a total value of $4.6 million. These laboratories will strengthen Pakistan’s ability to diagnose COVID-19 and other infectious diseases, especially in remote and underserved areas. In addition, the US CDC announced the successful transfer of the Pakistan Field Epidemiology Training Program to the Government of Pakistan, and will build on this program and other ongoing investments to support and coordinate robust disease surveillance and response systems.
