Minister urges to take advantage of CPEC, boost diary sector

Lahore: Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain has stressed the need to take advantage of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and work on dairy sector by utilizing modern technologies to enhance milk and meat production.

Presiding over the concluding ceremony of a two-day International Conference on Health Security (ICHS) organised by Department of Veterinary Medicine the University of Veterinary an Animal Sciences (UVAS) in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and under the umbrella of the CPEC here, he emphasized that strong linkages were required to fill the gap between consumers’ demand and product quality research.

He maintained that such conferences were necessary for the development of livestock sector.

He advised that climate change must be included in the curriculum to address climate issue in Pakistan. He lauded the UVAS for arranging the conference.

Speaking on the occasion, UVAS Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Nasim Ahmad said that ICHS under the CPEC provided unique opportunities to jointly work with Chinese well-known universities for the capacity building in the areas of dairy and meat products processing and value addition.

He also mentioned the role, ranking and historic importance of the UVAS in Pakistan to uplift the livestock sector.

Earlier, Professor Dr Joon Seok Chae Chae from College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University Republic of Korea presented the recommendation of the conference while ICHS Organizing Secretary Professor Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani presented vote of thanks.

The conference strongly recommended promoting community engagement in health emergency preparedness and response through education, training and participation in decision-making processes.

The conference also recommended promotion of collaboration and information-sharing among countries, governments, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to foster a comprehensive and coordinated response to global health threats.

The experts urged that there was a dire need for the international collaboration among countries to address health security challenges through sharing of knowledge, resources, and adapting good practices and ensure equitable access to essential technologies, including vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, especially in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan.

They also called for enhancing the capacity of veterinary and healthcare systems to deliver quality healthcare services during emergencies outbreaks, floods and other natural disasters. It was observed that the production of livestock was decreasing due to the stress of the climate change which was alarming for the food security.

Zoonotic importance of various diseases needed to be highlighted and human, veterinary and environment dealing components should be sensitized along with the public at large, the participants observed. The speakers stated that the national health security plans should also be looked as a civic responsibility rather than considering it the sole responsibility of the government.

The conference said that it was need of the hour that national security as perceived in the constitutional framework should be revised and redefined to include emerging, re-emerging and other trans-boundary diseases of human and animal as one of the main threats to the health security and food security of the human population.

During the two-day conference, 24 international and 60 national speakers joined virtually and 64 research papers were presented.

Advisor Higher Education Commission (CPEC) Lt Gen (R) Muhammad Asghar, Director General CPEC (HEC) Dr Safdar Ali Shah, Principle KBCMA-CVAS Narowal Prof Dr Younus Rana and renowned veterinary & medical practitioners, scholars, researchers and academicians experts from different countries, including China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the USA and across Pakistan participated physically and virtually in the ICHS.