Public health: Measles fight hamstrung by resource crunch

Despite tall claims, the Balochistan govt has not released money for campaign against the disease

QUETTA:

The Balochistan government has been making tall claims about its renewed focus on health and education, yet it is dragging its feet over the release of its due share out of a total amount of Rs137 million needed to launch a campaign against measles.

This communicable disease has so far killed 13 children in Balochistan this year, while at least 480 cases have been reported across the province.

There has been no campaign against measles in Balochistan since 2012. And that campaign too was a poorly launched one that did not have the desired effect.

Predictably, there was an outbreak of measles in 2013. The disease killed 43 children and affected 789 others in 2013. There has been just 16 per cent coverage against the nine preventable diseases in the immunisation campaign across Balochistan to date.

According to the Balochistan Health Department, in merely 16 per cent children are fully immunized against the nine preventable diseases — measles tuberculosis, pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, meningitis, hepatitis B, influenza and measles. The situation in Balochistan, compared to the other three provinces, is precarious.



In Balochistan, 111 children out of 1,000 live births die before reaching the age of five years, and 97 of these children die before reaching the age of one year. A majority of the children under the age of five are chronically malnourished.

The Global Alliance for Vaccine (GAVI) has committed to arrange 52 per cent of the share (for the present campaign that will cover children aged six months to five years, while the provincial government has to arrange 48 per cent of the share. But GAVI will withdraw its share if the government fails to allocate its due amount, reveal sources.

When The Express Tribune contacted the health department, it said that the government will release the amount soon, pointing out a funding crunch.

“The immunisation programme had been drastically affected after the 18th Amendment, because such programmes were funded earlier by the federal government, and ran under a project for a specific period,” said Health Secretary Arshad Bugti, adding that the international donors release funds after the government announces its share regarding immunisation campaigns.

He said that the law has been enacted in this regard and government will soon release the amount.

“The health department will soon launch an immunisation campaign against measles; there has been no campaign due to the lack of funding,” he told The Express Tribune.

Balochistan is the only province which could not arrange its share for measles campaign while the other three provinces have already allocated the amount.

The PC-1 was developed and submitted but has not been approved because the funds that had to be arranged from the non-development sector are not there.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2014.