Spread of the disease expected to accelerate in the summer. PHOTO: FILE
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) health department has not yet approved Rs300 million for this year’s dengue prevention program.
A health official, on the condition of anonymity, revealed that Rs300 million budgeted (PC-1) for Integrated Vector Management for dengue has been pending with the Planning and Development Department for the last three months, while current prevention activities were being funded from last year’s remaining budget.
The delay raises questions about the department’s efforts to address the fatal disease that claimed 40 lives across the province last year, while over 10,000 were affected by the dengue virus.
According to the data recorded by the K-P health department in 2013, around 57 people were infected in Abbottabad with one fatality; 26 suffered in Buner; 363 infected in Lower Dir; 344 infected in Mardan; 210 infected in Mansehra; 479 in Malakand; 9,037 were affected in Swat, out of which 36 died; 1,116 were infected in Shangla.
While talking to The Express Tribune, K-P’s focal person for the prevention of dengue and malaria, Dr Muhammad Asif, said that they had appointed four committees for strategic planning with regards to controlling dengue fever in 2014.
He said that several prevention plans were in progress, while training doctors and paramedics had already been completed. Dr Asif added that the procurement process for vector control items was also underway.
According to him, the remainder from the department’s previous budget (estimated at Rs1.1 billion), amounting to around Rs59 million, was currently being used for dengue control across the province.
This is not enough, the doctor warned, as the summer months were fast approaching when the spread of the disease accelerates due to rising temperatures. Dr Asif said that the funds should be sorted out as quickly as possible so that the disease is controlled before conditions get worse.
Earlier this year a World Health Organization official also warned about the peak season for the deadly disease.
“It is expected that the mosquito will be more active from mid-February to May this year, therefore there is a need to take timely measures to prevent innocent people becoming victims of this disease,” said the official.
Dr Asif said that people could help the government prevent the disease from spreading by being more aware of their surroundings and address environment conditions that provide safe havens for the vector of the disease
“If we want to save ourselves and our family members from dengue we should raise awareness about the dangers of stagnant water. This water should be removed or filled with soil. We should also change the water from our flowerpots because these places are possible breeding grounds for the dengue mosquitoes,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2014.
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