ISLAMABAD: An e-conference was jointly organized by ‘YDNK ONLINE’, ‘The Dayspring’ and ‘Youth Advocacy Network’ (YAN) discussed various aspects of the pandemic COVID-19 in Pakistan. The conference which was live-streamed on Facebook and Google hangout discussed a lot of relevant policy issues regarding Coronavirus and brought forward a lot of important policy recommendations that can be considered by the policymakers of the country. The conference was divided into three sessions and each session had four panellists. The discussion was moderated by Yasir Dil Nawaz Khan who is a social activist and has been engaged with various national and international non-profit organizations. The first-panel discussion revolved around the “Role of social, print and electronic media in COVID-19”. Dr. Farhan Virk a popular social media expert lauded social media positive role during COVID-19 and suggested that the major sectors like Telecom sector of Pakistan should come forward to play a positive role in the COVID-19 pandemic like other countries including India, China and other countries. Ms Maryam Shabbir, a policy researcher from SDPI urged the mainstream media to highlight the cases recovered to disseminate positivity among the masses. Qaiser Nawab founder of COVID 19 Global Youth Task shared the global objectivities and activities of the task force during the pandemic COVID 19 and how social media tools are used by the task force. Asim Nawaz founder of “The Dayspring” highlighted the services of health beat reporters and field journalists during the COVID-19 pandemic and urged the Government to put pressure on media owners to ensure the safety of these field reporters by providing them with the necessary precautionary medical tool kits. The experts highlighted the fact that a lot of negativity and panic was spread among the masses especially by the mainstream electronic media due to pursuit of ratings and lack of journalistic values. The panellists developed a consensus that a joint social media platform is the need of the hour and Government should establish such a social media platform to raise the awareness in a well-coordinated manner and it will also help in curbing fake news regarding policy plans of federal and provincial units.
The second panel discussion theme was “Pakistan Government policy response on COVID-19 and impact of COVID-19” on our society. Dr. Nauman ul Haq a public health expert highlighted how public health sector has always been ignored by the policymakers in the past as Government spending on health has been less than 1 % of total budget due to which our health system doesn’t have the ability to cope up with the pandemic like COVID-19. He said that the lessons should be learnt from China and the public health interventions should be designed and implemented including trainings of health officials to deal effectively with Corona patients. Mr. Hafeez Khan from UNDP highlighted that SDG 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages” should be the priority and focus of the Government and all the indicators and targets mentioned should be adhered strictly in the policy action plans of Federal and Provincial Governments. Mr. Fasahat ul Hassan founder of Youth Advocacy Network urged Government to form a straightforward but well thought policy response rather than taking up complicated plans without required capacity. He urged the need to improve the coordination between the center and provinces. He also highlighted that the newly built PM Corona Tiger Task Force should incorporate NGO’s and INGO’s who have already been working especially in the youth engagement sector. Mr. Ahsan Hameed Durrani a policy researcher and columnist highlighted the possible future socio-political impact of COVID-19. He highlighted how different technical innovations and futuristic ideas which are currently in use during the Pandemic like the concept of virtual classrooms should also become part of future policy action plans. The panel developed the consensus that coordination between federal and provincial governments needs improvement and suggested all political representatives to set aside their differences and work together to win this war against Corona Virus.
The third and final panel discussion theme was “Stay Home Stay Safe Policy and our Individual Responsibility in Social Distancing”. Danial Ahsan, focal person Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) KP highlighted the various steps taken by the organization to engage and mobilize the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FATA in distributing ration among the deserving people. Hina Ashraf a health expert raised the importance of building our immune system through a balanced diet to fight the Corona Virus. Sadaf Irfan Abbasi a clinical psychologist raised awareness about various mental health issues that can be faced by health officials and general masses and how to cope up with stress, anxiety and depression during COVID-19. She also highlighted the importance of activities for kids to keep them physically and mentally healthy. Salma Kamal a kitchen garden specialist urged everyone to involve themselves in the hobby of kitchen gardening during COVID-19. She also raised awareness about the value of gardening considering the go green Pakistan theme to curb the adverse effects of climate change.
The session attracted a lot of interest of the common public with more than 1000 people belonging to various walks of life watching the panel discussions through Facebook live stream and google hangout. While concluding the E-conference Yasir DilNawaz Khan the moderator and a policy analyst urged the Government that the pandemic COVID-19 requires a coordinated effort between federal and provincial Governments. He stressed on the importance of Government using digital means including E-learning, E-conferences, digital currency and other digital tools to suppress the adverse effects of pandemic COVID-19 in short-run and move towards a digital Pakistan whose vision is given by Prime Minister Imran Khan.