KARACHI: The United States Government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), inaugurated a state-of-the-art Command and Control Center to the Sindh Health Department to respond to COVID-19 cases across Sindh.

Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho and the USAID Director for Sindh and Balochistan, James Parys, participated in the semi-virtual ceremony, said a statement on Thursday.

USAID partnered with Pakistan’s federal and provincial health department to establish Command and Control Centers at Health Secretariats across four provinces and two regions to reinforce the Government of Pakistan’s response to COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

The Sindh Command and Control Center will lead high-level monitoring and decision making on COVID-19 at present, as well as other public health threats in the future.

“The Command and Control Center will provide strategic and policy level guidance to help in the prevention, detection and notification of infectious diseases,” said James Parys.

He said, “Our collaboration on the response to COVID-19 builds upon the legacy of partnership and our shared goal to save lives through the delivery of basic, essential health services in the province.”