Pakistani expert hails Azerbaijan’s efforts to fight against COVID-19 pandemic

An influential think tank of Pakistan, the Center for Global and Strategic Studies (CGSS), has published an article praising Azerbaijan’s successful international cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic, which is causing untold human suffering and economic devastation around the world.

Headlined “Euro-Asian policy measures and integrated structural reforms against COVID-19”, the article was written by Dr. Mehmood Ul Hassan Khan.

The article says: “Despite, Western propaganda as responsible members states of the international community, all the Central Asian and South Caucasus countries especially, Azerbaijan have established close and active contacts with the United Nations (UN), its specialized bodies, organizations and agencies, and, above all, with the World Health Organization, since the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) in their respective countries.

All regional countries mainly Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have initiated diversified but integrated policy measures to prevent the wide-spread COVID-19. A variety of restrictive measures have been taken in accordance with the prevailing international conditions and standards.

The ideal combination of “Containment & Mitigation” Policies of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have been using and implementing as “balancing act” to delay surges of patients, maintaining easy and smooth supply chains of medical equipment, staff, hospital beds and last but not least safeguarding the most “vulnerable” segment of societies from infectious disease of COVID-19 in their respective social setups.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have announced and implemented various “interconnected holistic policies” to combat the density of dangerous and infectious COVID-19 which has drastically changed the cycles of life, processes of human survival and production channels of this planet. These countries followed their own “models” and “modules” to minimize the “collateral damages” of COVID-19 in their societies and economies alike.

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan have introduced many short, medium and long term policies measures to mitigate grave consequences of COVID-19 on their societies and macro-economies alike.

The COVID-19 Operational Headquarters has been formed under the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan, and working groups within various ministries and at the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) have been tasked with developing specific measures.

The government’s spending on public health (AZN 8.3 million) has been increased and created a CV Response Fund, to which it has transferred AZN 20 million, with additional contributions from the public and private sectors. They have also announced support to the affected businesses in the amount of AZN 2.5 billion (3 percent of GDP). Azerbaijan’s government has also provided $5 million to the COVID-19 Fund as part of the WHO’s Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan.”