Health ministry joined hands with Google for raising awareness about Coronavirus

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination joined hands with global technology giant Google for raising awareness on prevention of Coronavirus in the country.

Health ministry joined hands with Google for raising awareness about CoronavirusGoogle gave free space to all existing channels for public education including search, display and Youtube. Health ministry will be able to deliver critical information to Pakistanis through this assistance that how to prevent and cope with the spread of Covid-19.

The free space or ad credits provided are worth USD five million and are part of Google’s Ad Grants Program and are anticipated to run from April until the end of the year.

To support Pakistan both in the ongoing short-term response to the virus, and in the long-term, Google is concentrating on three priorities that they believe are critical to a sustainable recovery, which included promoting accurate and reliable information, supporting education and learning and contributing to business continuity and economic recovery.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza  appreciated the assistance from Google by said that this assistance is critical in helping the Pakistan government raise awareness on Covid-19 and highlight how its citizens can protect themselves and prevent the further spread of the virus.

Google stated that “Covid-19 puts intense demands on us all, and we’re determined to uphold our responsibility in this unprecedented time to enable access to trusted information, support remote learning, back small businesses, and more. The initiatives we’ve shared today are the start. We’re standing with Pakistan to do all we can to help as we overcome Covid-19 and shape a stronger future.”

Google has been focusing on making sure the availability of information and tools that peoples need since the virus started spreading. In early March, Google allocated USD 25 million in ad credits to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and government agencies worldwide.

Representative of WHO in Pakistan, Dr Palitha Mahipala spoke on Google’s assistance and partnership with the WHO that in today’s age of misinformation, companies like Google can help get reliable and trustworthy information across to concerned citizens. This partnership will greatly support the Covid-19 response.