Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for Health and Dr. Sania Nishtar, Gavi CEO Discuss Strategic Pathways to Strengthen Pakistan’s Immunization Efforts
Federal Minister for Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal held an important meeting today with Dr. Sania Nishtar, Chief Executive Officer of Gavi the Vaccine Alliance to discuss avenues for enhancing Pakistan’s immunization landscape.
During the meeting, Federal Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal underscored the critical need for local vaccine production in Pakistan, describing it as a strategic priority to ensure long-term sustainability and national health security. He appreciated Gavi’s historic role in supporting immunization programmes and called upon GAVI to support Pakistan’s efforts to move towards indigenous manufacturing of essential vaccines.
The Minister also emphasized the importance of securing consistent and uninterrupted vaccine supplies for Pakistani children, regardless of geopolitical influences. He urged Gavi to facilitate vaccine procurement from countries with reliable supply chains, ensuring continuity of immunization services.
Highlighting national priorities, the Minister identified the provision of the hexavalent vaccine as an urgent requirement for Pakistan. He appealed to global vaccine decision-makers, including Gavi, to recognize Pakistan’s ongoing fiscal constraints and to safeguard the country’s access to life-saving vaccines during this critical period as we are putting all efforts to eradicate polio.
Dr. Sania Nishtar commended the recent advancements made under Pakistan’s Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), noting visible progress in coverage, surveillance, and strategic planning. She acknowledged the significance of the issues raised by Minister Mustafa Kamal and assured that they would receive due consideration. Dr. Nishtar reaffirmed Gavi’s commitment to pursing the vaccination agenda for the children of Pakistan. She highlighted the upcoming Gavi leap whereby the country's priorities will be central in future.
The meeting concluded with a renewed spirit of collaboration and a shared resolve to protect every child in Pakistan from vaccine-preventable diseases through sustained, equitable, and resilient immunization efforts.
The meeting was attended by senior leadership from the Ministry of National Health Services, including the Secretary Health, Director General Health, and Director General of Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI), along with members of the Gavi visiting mission. Country representatives from WHO and UNICEF, the representative of Gates Foundation, and the Polio Programme were also present.
