New Delhi, April 20: Signalling better ties in the health sector, Pakistan has sought a mechanism for buying contraceptives directly from India instead of going through foreign agencies.
According to Pakistani Population Welfare Minister Firdous Ashiq Awan, Islamabad does not manufacture contraceptive commodities.
“We pay to UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) which through international bidding purchases contraceptive commodities for us,” she said at an ASSOCHAM function here.
Awan said after this bidding process, the contraceptives are sent to Pakistan via Dubai.
“This increases costs, transportation and there is also a problem of storage,” Awan said adding she has requested Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad that there should be a joint mechanism for the contraceptives to be supplied to Pakistan directly from India.
–Agencies