Unluckily the outbreak of Covid-19 has disturbed the business environment of Pakistan. The experts reveal that the main victims of the Covid-19 outbreak are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Pakistan. Companies are facing several issues like financial, supply chain disruption, decrease in demand, reduction in sales and profit, among others. Besides, over 83 percent of enterprises were neither prepared nor have any plan to handle such a condition. Furthermore, now it is difficult to survive of the companies if the lockdown policy again implemented in the country. In this outbreak condition, the present Government of Pakistan is still committed to enhancing the health care facilities and provision of good nutrition for effectively utilizing the human potential of Pakistan. The problems to the health system will be further exacerbated through the direct and indirect impact of the Covid-19. The pandemic has no doubt posed considerable health risks to an already vulnerable population living in Pakistan with inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
Presently the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has approved a grant of $150 million for the purchase of Covid-19 vaccine. The ECC evaluated a proposal submitted through the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination and accepted, in principle, the provision of a technical supplementary grant of $150 million for the purchase of Covid vaccine. It is said that this shall be the first phase of procurement and the amount of vaccine will suffice for the most vulnerable 5 percent of the population health workers and people aged above 65 years. Besides, approximately 10 million people would be offered with vaccine cover under the above arrangement.
According to the Economic Survey of Pakistan FY2020, the Covid-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Pakistan on 26 February 2020. Since then, the pandemic has spread through foreign and domestic transfusion. However, due to timely measures taken by the government in collaboration with provinces, the outbreak has so far been prevented from getting worse. Till June 05, 2020, so far 89,249 confirmed cases with 31,198 recoveries and 1,838 deaths recorded in Pakistan. Sindh has registered the most 33,536 cases, Punjab 33,144, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) 11,890 and Balochistan 5,582. Based on reported cases, the mortality rate is approximately 2.1 percent. The government is employing available public, community, and private sector capacity to rapidly scale up the health system to prevent the spread of Covid-19. Furthermore, the Government of Pakistan has constituted a high-level National Coordination Committee (NCC) headed through the Prime Minister that evaluates the evolving condition on day to day basis to effectively curb the spread of the virus in Pakistan. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and NHSRC have leading roles in combating the spread of a pandemic. A Command and Control Center has also been organized to ensure effective coordination among the federal and provincial governments to control Covid-19. The disease outbreak information management system has been strengthened, and a comprehensive hospital information management system has been ensured as the basis for the early detection of outbreaks. Disease Surveillance & Response Units (DSRU) has also been strengthened at the district level and collaborated with Emergency Operations Centers (EOC) at the provincial level. Hospitals and laboratories in the major cities have been designated to collect the samples from suspected cases on bio-safety and bio-security standards. Quarantine facilities have been organized in the entire country to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The availability of relevant supplies, PPEs, and lab agents for safe collection, storage, packing, and transportation of samples from the designated hospitals to the National Reference Lab/designated is being ensured.
The government officials also recorded that the Government of Punjab declared a health emergency on 12 March 2020 in a cabinet meeting. Statistics showed that the provincial health department has sought Rs 11.00 billion from the Punjab Finance Department for arrangements to contain the spread of the pandemic. Punjab Government declared an initial grant of Rs 236.00 million to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department for preventive measures against Covid-19. Pakistan Army assisted to setup a 10,000-bed field hospital at Karachi’s Expo Centre to isolate and treat confirmed patients. All expenses for its establishment were born by the provincial government of Sindh. The Government of Sindh also organized an isolation and quarantine centre at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical College in Karachi, which also offered free tests of suspected cases with results in 8 hours of sample submission. The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has appointed at least 1,300 new doctors on contractual basis across the province to assist contain the spread of Covid-19. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Public Service Commission also approved the recruitment of 635 more doctors to join the province’s health force. Statistics also showed that the provincial government approved Rs 32.00 billion stimulus economic package to provide relief to the masses and the business community amid the coronavirus crisis. The provincial government had ramped up its testing capacity with 500 new diagnostics kits and distribution of equipment and supplies, counting oxygen concentrators, cardiac monitors, infusion pumps, dialysis catheter, among all districts of the province. Moreover, the Government of Balochistan organized a Quarantine Centre at Bolan Medical College, Quetta, and 10-bed isolation wards at Quetta’s Fatima Jinnah Chest Hospital and Sheikh Zayed Hospital, while a functional laboratory set up in Quetta. Thermal guns and 231 ambulances were made obtainable in bordering districts with Iran and Afghanistan. An emergency response team headed by Director General, Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), was organized.