In flood affected areas of the country, where hundreds of cases of deadly Plasmodium falciparum disease are reported on a daily basis. The health officials have requested government permission to procure around 7.1 million mosquito nets from India.
7.1 million Mosquito nets will be purchased from India by the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination.
A Global Fund official told The News on Wednesday that the fund has offered to provide funding for the procurement of mosquito nets from India on an urgent basis.
Hundreds of cases of Plasmodium Falciparum, the deadliest form of malaria, have been reported in flood-affected Sindh and Balochistan.
In flood-affected areas, health experts have urged authorities to provide anti-malaria drugs and mosquito nets immediately.
NHS officials claimed they had requested mosquito nets for 26 most affected Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan districts, where Plasmodium Falciparum cases were apocalyptic.
When the government of Pakistan allows it to procure the nets from India, the Global Fund offers to buy them from India.
We have written to the Ministry of Commerce to obtain mosquito nets from India. A Global Fund official said it would arrange mosquito nets within a few days, if allowed.
The Aga Khan University’s Infectious Disease experts advised the government to relax malaria treatment guidelines temporarily due to a large number of deaths in flood-affected Sindh and other provinces. Because neither malaria testing kits, neither anti-malarial drugs nor mosquito nets were available to prevent malaria from spreading.
In flood-affected areas, malaria poses a significant public health challenge. Lack of malaria testing kits and anti-malarial drugs exacerbates the problem.
When possible, national guidelines recommend confirmatory tests before treating malaria. If there are no testing kits? AKUH paediatric infectious diseases expert Prof. Asad Ali asked.
Flood affected areas causing malaria
Dr. Asad Ali, Associate Dean of Research at AKU, said thousands of malaria cases reported daily from flood-affected areas.
He said that, due to the inability to obtain testing kits, no confirmatory tests performed, and no treatment provided to the patients.
On the first day of the health camp in Matiari in rural Sindh this week, five of the nine children tested positive for malaria. Malaria found in four of six children the next day. Dr. Ali found Vivax in three and Falciparum in one.
At our health camp, antimalarials were a blessing. There can be no words to describe the suffering of hundreds of malaria-infected children, he said.
Anti-malarial drugs and malaria diagnostic kits urgently needed in flood-affected areas.
In case diagnostic kits are not available, doctors should empathize and treat patients empirically with a high degree of suspicion. He urged us to reduce some of their preventable sufferings.
However, the National Malaria Control Program said over 3,500 malaria cases reported daily in Sindh’s flood-affected districts, of which 22.4% were Plasmodium Falciparum, the deadliest malaria species.
Sindh flood-hit areas have reported over 80,000 cases so far. According to the National Malaria Control Program official, most people infected with the disease diagnosed.
They also said they are doing their best to provide malaria testing kits, anti-malaria medicines, and mosquito nets.
Of the 80 flood-affected districts in Pakistan, malaria has affected 26. According to the official, around 7.1 million mosquito nets arranged urgently to save people, especially women and children.
As well, international and local companies approached to buy rapid malaria testing kits and anti-malaria medicines before things get worse.
