EC to help Pakistan in improving health infrastructure
23 February, 2007
BHURBAN: The European Commission (EC) will continue its support to Pakistan to improve its health infrastructure and providing best medical care to the people.
Addressing the particpants of a 2-day seminar here, the EC Programme Manager, Miss Elisabeth Loacker said that HIV/AIDS component was an integral part of all the EC-funded reproductive health projects in Pakistan adding that the EC is one of the biggest grant donors to Pakistan and the total EC contribution in Pakistan during 2000-2006 was EUR 338 million excluding humanitarian aid.
She pointed out that the focus areas were women development in education, trade development and promotion of business and institutional links while the Commission was also helping in other areas including eradicating child labour, supporting financial sector reforms, promotion of democracy and human rights and fight drug abuse.
Giving the details of the total amount spend on various projects, She said out of total amount, EUR 79 million were allocated for education, 6 million Euro for trade development, 5 million EUR for prevention of child labour, 50 million EUR for financial sector reforms and 50 million EUR earthquake response for medium term programmes.
Miss Loacker said in 2004, the Commission adopted a new comprehensive policy framework to confront poverty related diseases like HIV AIDS, malaria, TB. She said the contribution to the Global Funds (GFATAM) to fight AIDS, TB and malaria stands at EUR 170 million.
She said the project of TB case detection and treatment in Balochistan and Sindh was implemented by Mercy Corps with EC contribution EUR 2.56 million. Building up rights based approaches to HIV/AIDS in Pakistan was implemented by Interact Worldwide with EC contribution of EUR 3.3 million and prevention of STIs, HIV/AIDS and malaria was implemented by international rescue committee with EC contribution EUR 2.9 million.
Similarly integrated prevention, care and support for vulnerable communities project was implemented by Interact Worldwide with EC contribution of EUR 0.74 million. She said under the third Generation Cooperation Agreement between Pakistan and EU in 2004 steps are being taken to respect human rights and democratic principles and to enhance and develop through dialogue and partnership the various aspects of cooperation between both for trade, economic and soical development with the particular focus on vulnerable people , sustainable management of natural resources and culture.
She said EC programmes in Pakistan are design to contribute towards set objectives in line with targets set out by the government of Pakistan in its five years Medium Term Development Framework and poverty reduction strategy. She said there is linkage between health and achievement of MDGs. She added that Commission is working with primary objective of poverty reduction sustainable economics, social development and smooth and gradual integration of the developing countries into the world economy.
She said the Commission is also working in other areas to achieve MDGs to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger to achieve Universal Primary Education, to promote gender equality and empowerment of women to reduce child mortality, to improve maternal health to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, to ensure environmental sustainability and developing a global partnership for prosperity.
Source: APP
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