27 June 2021 – Dr Palitha Mahipala, WHO Representative in Pakistan, paid a courtesy visit to His Excellency Mr Suh Sangpyo, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Islamabad in support of efforts to further strengthen diplomatic ties. Dr Palitha briefed His Excellency about the current situation of COVID-19 in Pakistan and response activities, in particular disease surveillance, laboratory testing, genomic surveillance for variants of concern, and the COVID-19 vaccination drive. He expressed his sincere appreciation of the support of international partners, in particular the Republic of Korea, for their support in strengthening the health system in Pakistan. 

The World Health Organization is leading and coordinating the global effort to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting countries to prevent, detect, and respond to the pandemic. WHO's country office in Pakistan has successfully mobilized financial resources through high-level advocacy and dialogue with donors and partners during the COVID-19 pandemic. The support has enabled effective and continued response to this unprecedented health emergency.

WHO in Pakistan, being the health sector lead, steers partner coordination, especially during emergencies, and holds periodic briefings to update partners on the latest health situation in the country. 

The WHO country office has held weekly partner briefings throughout the COVID-19 outbreak and shared key information to keep partners, donors, and diplomatic missions abreast of latest developments. Partners have expressed their appreciation of WHO's role in leading the health response and for sharing these important updates. 

WHO Pakistan gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution of its valued partners in promoting health and implementing relief response interventions. 

WHO donor support has contributed towards scaling up of country’s response operations, including strengthening readiness capacity to rapidly identify, diagnose, and treat cases, including identification of contacts with tracing and follow up, and minimizing community spread of coronavirus in Pakistan.