LAHORE:Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique inaugurated the International Volunteer Day Cert Challenge 2025 at the Emergency Services Headquarters here on Monday.
As many as 61 teams of volunteers from all over Pakistan, including teams from China, are participating in this international challenge. Khawaja Salman Rafique and Secretary Emergency Services Dr Rizwan Naseer inspected the parade. The contingents of volunteers presented a salute in front of the platform to the tunes of the national anthems of Pakistan and China. Khawaja Salman Rafique welcomed the Chinese volunteer teams, as well as the community emergency response teams from educational institutions, industrial sectors and union councils. The minister welcomed the United Nations World Food Programme Punjab in-charge Dr Amara Khan.
The minister in his address said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, emergency services are being taken to the next level. ‘I have a long association with this organisation since the 2010 flood. Our rescuers are providing excellent services for emergency services, firefighting and patient transfer.
‘Rescuers have performed their duties very efficiently in flood 2025. Even in severe weather, rescuers were busy transferring flood victims to safe places. In this Emergency Services Academy, volunteers from Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab and Azad Kashmir are trained according to modern requirements.
