The World Health Organization has hailed the countries that have deterred the novel coronavirus spread most effectively.

Pakistan is one of these countries. According to the UN health body, seven countries which include Thailand, Italy, Pakistan, Uruguay, China, Mongolia, and Mauritius have set a precedent in containing the viral spread and other countries must follow them.

It's an honor that Pakistan has been dubbed as a success story by the most esteemed global health organization. Pakistan saw a massive spike in new coronavirus cases in mid-June but managed to turn the tide quickly as it has flattened the curve for the past couple of months now. Government's policies like 'Smart Lockdown' have worked as daily new cases have contracted to 400-500.

The Director-General WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this about Pakistan:

Pakistan deployed the infrastructure built up over many years for polio to combat COVID-19. Community health workers who have been trained to go door-to-door vaccinating children for polio have been utilized for surveillance, contact tracing and care. 

He further said:

COVID-19 is teaching all of us many lessons. One of them is that health is not a luxury item for those who can afford it; it’s a necessity, and a human right.

Dr. Tedros called for the total revamping of the global public health system. He stressed on the importance of investing in this sector so that we can stave off the future pandemics effectively. He hailed the countries who have done this in the current pandemic and asked the other countries to follow them in fighting off the future pandemics. Apart from the above mentioned seven countries Cambodia, Japan, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain, and Viet Nam were also referred to as the success stories in battling COVID-19.

According to Dr. Tedros:

This will not be the last pandemic. History teaches us that outbreaks and pandemics are a fact of life. But when the next pandemic comes, the world must be ready – more ready than it was this time.