In response to media reports regarding the outbreak of leishmaniasis in the Khyber tribal district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), Provincial Minister for Health Syed Qasim Ali Shah has ordered the dispatch of necessary injections for the treatment of the disease.
Concerned by the situation, he has directed authorities to immediately provide injections for the control of the disease in the tribal district so that infected patients could be effectively treated.
Upon receiving the directive, Additional Director General Administration Dr. Saraj has coordinated with Medicine Sans Frontier (MSF) to provide the first batch of glucantine injections to the Khyber and Mohmand districts on an urgent basis.
Minister Shah has also visited the Directorate General of Health Services and instructed the district health officers in Khyber and Mohmand to allocate 600 injections for emergency treatment of leishmaniasis.
He has also emphasized that procurement orders for injections be issued promptly to curb the epidemic.
He also said that, with the United Nations Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) assistance, glucantine injections had been procured province-wide and that the next batch of injections would be available in the province within two weeks.
The minister added that, through the collaboration of the MSF, the Naseerullah Babar and Badhbair Hospitals and leishmaniasis treatment centres were now operational and were providing treatment to affected individuals nationwide.
ADG Dr Saraj further stated that, following the Health Minister’s directives, immediate arrangements had been made through MSF for the supply of glucantine injections.
He further noted that oral medications were also available at the treatment centres and urged the public to seek immediate and free treatment at these facilities.
In January 2022, around 2,000 new cases of leishmaniasis had been reported from Karak district which had pushed up the total number of cases in the province to 5,000.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 16th, 2024.
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