Federal Minister for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, Syed Mustafa Kamal, on Tuesday directed to formulate the comprehensive strategy to restore public trust and counter misinformation regarding vaccines.
Chairing a high-level meeting attended by the Federal Health Secretary and senior officials of the health and immunisation departments, the minister reviewed in detail the expenditures and outcomes of the vaccine awareness campaign supported by UNICEF.
Federal Minister for Health Syed Mustafa Kamal expressed strong displeasure over the failure to achieve desired outcomes despite millions of dollars spent on a vaccine awareness campaign by UNICEF.
“Despite spending millions of dollars, negative trends in public opinion regarding vaccines have not decreased,” he said.
The minister stressed the need to eliminate misinformation surrounding vaccines and called for a result-oriented and well-coordinated strategy.
He termed the funds spent in the name of Pakistan a serious responsibility, he said.
Highlighting the core objective of the health sector, the minister said the primary purpose of healthcare is to protect people from diseases, adding that the ministry is prioritising public health protection.
He underscored that with proper planning and utilisation of resources, not only could positive behavioural change be achieved, but negative trends related to vaccines could also be reversed.
The minister further directed that transparency, accountability and result-based measures must be ensured in all future initiatives aimed at improving vaccine acceptance.
