K-P readies plan to combat dengue

A high level 13-member committee has been formed by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government to implement the dengue action plan 2023 across the province.

Talking to The Express Tribune an official of the health department said that last year 15,000 cases of dengue were reported from Khyber tribal district alone.

This year so far 752 cases have been reported in the province despite the fact that full-fledged hot weather is still to arrive in the K-P province.

“This week 126 dengue tests were conducted of which 14 came back positive. As a result special plans have been finalized to eliminate mosquito larvae in high-risk districts of the province,” said the official, adding that the 13-member committee will monitor the overall arrangements and measures taken for dengue control.

Chief secretary will be the head of the committee and a formal notification has been issued by the health department in this regard.

As per the notification, health secretary, LG secretary, secretary home and tribal affairs, secretary higher education, secretary information, irrigation, public health engineering and others are members of the high-level committee.

New rules and regulations have been introduced for the dengue action plan. As per these rules, provincial oversight committee will monitor the implementation of the action plan.

“The oversight committee will submit its report to secretary health about coordination with other departments, available resources, effective implementation of the action plan and holding of regular meetings,” said the official.

It is worth mentioning here that due to the lack of effective policies on the part of the local government and the previous two provincial governments, K-P was gripped by a large scale dengue outbreak which killed dozens.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 6^th, 2023.