ISLAMABAD: The government of Pakistan aims to achieve herd immunity by vaccinating 70 per cent of the eligible population in 2021, said the policy guideline of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the coronavirus vaccination plans.
In an exclusive working session organized by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT) regarding the party’s policy planning wing, the draft policies were discussed by the relevant officials, including Central Joint Secretary Mussadiq Ghumman, MNA Dr Nausheen Hamid, National Health Services (NHS) parliamentary secretary (Regulations & Coordination), PTI’s Women Wing president, and PTI Economic Affairs Secretary Dr Talat Anwar.
The PTI has issued a set of comprehensive policies on the availability and use of the coronavirus vaccines, as well as documentation regarding its impact on economy and education.
It states that approximately 100 million Pakistanis are eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine as per global guidelines, adding that the government already has enough doses secure to vaccinate approximately 30 million people by September – almost 50 per cent of the aforementioned target. Therein, frontline healthworker (FHWs) will be vaccinated first.
The policy highlights that the vaccine would be administered free of cost by public health facilities and emphasis that 578 adult vaccine counters (AVCs) have been established, enabling the the government to offer a vaccination capacity of 40,000 persons per day.
The policy states that clear criteria have been defined for FHWs after consultation with all provincial stakeholders, further explaining that the Resource Management System (RMS) has been set up so they can be registered expeditiously.
PTI’s policy on education under the pandemic states that, during school closures, the federal government was able to move swiftly to offer digital learning content through TeleSchools.
The content on the teleschools is provided free of cost by major Edtech partners, including Sabaq Foundation, Taleemabad, The Citizens Foundation (TCF), Punjab IT Board (PITB), Allama Iqbal Open University, and the Knowledge Platform.
The policy on education also added that the government managed a national consensus and coordination through the platform of Inter-provincial Education Ministers’ Conference (IEMC) and took decisions after consultations with the committee.
Regarding economy, the policy states that, to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy, Prime Minister Imran Khan had announced on March 24, 2020 a fiscal stimulus package of Rs1130 billion to support the economy and protect the weak segments of the population, particularly the daily wagers and the poor labours.
From the start, Prime Minister Imran Khan realised the risk of poverty and hunger especially among the daily wagers and labours, the policy underscores. It added that the government moved to “smart lockdown” by allowing partial business and economic activities which has been successful in mitigating the effects of recession and unemployment in Pakistan.
Notable PTI members who attended the policy planning session included Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Secretary Good Governance Abbas Raza, Insaf Youth Wing General Secretary Arif Rind, MPA Bilal Ahmed, Sindh Assembly Parliamentary Leader Dr Nazia Niaz, AJK Additional General Secretary Rukhsana Bhatti, a member of the Standing Committee on Discipline and Accountability, Insaf Women Wing Vice President Sadia Tabrayz Agha, Gilgit-Baltistan Women Wing Information Secretary Sarwat Saba, Insaf Women Wing General Secretary Senator Seemi Ezdi, MNA Shunila Ruth, and others.
