ISLAMABAD, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf on Wednesday said that the government was working on a comprehensive strategy to provide primary healthcare to all, facing challenges of bird flu and dengue virus.

    Inaugurating the Health Expo 2006, the president said the government was transmitting the economic gains of development to all sectors including health.

    Medical practitioners, experts, and a large number of medical students and nurses attended the opening of the two-day event.

    "We cannot achieve much unless we have a strong economy," he said, referring to the increase in allocation for the health sector.

    The president identified the high incidence of water-borne diseases as an area of key concern and said the government was aiming at providing clean drinking water to the people by December 2007.

    He said 7 billion rupees (about 116.67 million U.S. dollars) have been allocated for this purpose.

    As it was vital to regularly check the quality of water, the project was being implemented by the Ministry of Science and Technology under his direct supervision, he said.

    The allocation for health sector in the federal and provincial budgets combined was up by about 300 percent over the previous allocation, he said.

    "But this is not enough. We have to allocate more for the health sector and it will be done," the president added.

    Musharraf lauded efforts taken by the ministry of health to meet the challenge of bird flu and dengue virus.

    President Musharraf also said that he appreciated the role of pharmaceutical industry and asked it to increase its exports. In the meantime, he asked them to lower the prices of their medicines to make them within the reach of the common people.