ANKARA, 9 November 2016: Minister for Health of Turkey Prof. Dr. Recep Akdağ while meeting with a delegation from the Government of Punjab said Pakistan and Turkey can learn from each other’s experiences and share best practices in order to further transform their health sectors. The Punjab Health delegation is on a study visit of Turkey from 6-13 November 2016.
Minister Recep Akdağ offered all possible support from Turkey for implementing health sector reform initiatives of the Government of Punjab. Possiblities of cooperation in diverse areas such as improving service delivery in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare, pilot design of family health system, disease early warning system, health emergency response and nursing and paramedic education and training were discussed.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Turkey Sohail Mahmood and senior officers from the Embassy in Ankara were also present in the meeting.
It may be recalled that during the visit of Chief Minister Punjab Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif to Istanbul in August 2016, the Governments of Turkey and Punjab had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for closer cooperation in the health sector. As a follow-up, both sides have exchanged visits of experts and senior officials for identifying areas of mutual collaboration and taking practical steps on the ground.
The Punjab delegation is led by Additional Chief Secretary Khawaja Shamail Ahmad and includes Members of Provincial Assembly of Punjab Dr. Nadia Naz and Dr. Shabnam Sarfaraz, Secretary Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department Mr. Ali Jan Khan, Principal Allama Iqbal Medical College Dr. Mahmood Shaukat, Member (Health) Planning & Development Department Dr. Shabana Haider, Director General Punjab Emergency Services Dr. Rizwan Naseer, and Dr. Yadullah, Deputy Secretary Primary & Secondary Healthcare Department.