<p>Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on his first-ever visit to Pakistan on Thursday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and was briefed about efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and eradicate poliovirus from the country.</p>.<p>Gates also exchanged views on the prevailing situation of Covid-19, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Khan also hosted a luncheon in honour of Gates who is here on a day-long visit.</p>.<p>Gates attended a session of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the top anti-coronavirus body and also met Planning Minister and NCOC Chief Asad Umar.</p>.<p>According to a statement by the NCOC, the Microsoft founder was informed about the NCOC performance, the coronavirus situation in the country and the systematic efforts to control it through non-pharmaceutical interventions.</p>.<p>He was also briefed about genome sequencing and coronavirus variants detected in Pakistan, the statement added.</p>.<p>"Gates appreciated Pakistan's success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints and introducing excellent initiatives and measures for public health safety," according to the statement.</p>.<p>Gates also talked about the pandemic and efforts to tackle it through vaccination. He took interest in various initiatives by the NCOC, particularly smart lockdown and micro-smart lockdown strategy enforcement measures and Pakistan's vaccine administration regime. Umar later tweeted about hosting Gates at the NCOC.</p>.<p>“(We) shared with him the work which has been done for covid response in Pakistan and the role played by @OfficialNcoc. Thanked him for the support provided by the @gatesfoundation.”</p>.<p>“He (Gates) was appreciative of the Covid response effort in Pakistan,” Umar concluded his post. The philanthropist also visited the anti-polio programme where he was briefed by Programme Chief Shehzad Baig about polio prevention measures in the country.</p>.<p>Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries in the world where polio is still categorised as an endemic viral infection.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Khan and Gates have maintained relations for a few years now. Last year, the premier urged Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.</p>.<p>The two also interacted over the telephone in April 2021 and discussed Covid-19 response, polio eradication and climate change.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>
<p>Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on his first-ever visit to Pakistan on Thursday called on Prime Minister Imran Khan and was briefed about efforts to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and eradicate poliovirus from the country.</p>.<p>Gates also exchanged views on the prevailing situation of Covid-19, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. Khan also hosted a luncheon in honour of Gates who is here on a day-long visit.</p>.<p>Gates attended a session of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the top anti-coronavirus body and also met Planning Minister and NCOC Chief Asad Umar.</p>.<p>According to a statement by the NCOC, the Microsoft founder was informed about the NCOC performance, the coronavirus situation in the country and the systematic efforts to control it through non-pharmaceutical interventions.</p>.<p>He was also briefed about genome sequencing and coronavirus variants detected in Pakistan, the statement added.</p>.<p>"Gates appreciated Pakistan's success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints and introducing excellent initiatives and measures for public health safety," according to the statement.</p>.<p>Gates also talked about the pandemic and efforts to tackle it through vaccination. He took interest in various initiatives by the NCOC, particularly smart lockdown and micro-smart lockdown strategy enforcement measures and Pakistan's vaccine administration regime. Umar later tweeted about hosting Gates at the NCOC.</p>.<p>“(We) shared with him the work which has been done for covid response in Pakistan and the role played by @OfficialNcoc. Thanked him for the support provided by the @gatesfoundation.”</p>.<p>“He (Gates) was appreciative of the Covid response effort in Pakistan,” Umar concluded his post. The philanthropist also visited the anti-polio programme where he was briefed by Programme Chief Shehzad Baig about polio prevention measures in the country.</p>.<p>Pakistan is one of the two remaining countries in the world where polio is still categorised as an endemic viral infection.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Khan and Gates have maintained relations for a few years now. Last year, the premier urged Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.</p>.<p>The two also interacted over the telephone in April 2021 and discussed Covid-19 response, polio eradication and climate change.</p>.<p><strong>Check out the latest videos from <i data-stringify-type="italic">DH</i>:</strong></p>