NEW DELHI, Oct 12: The World Health Organisation is planning to purchase over 62 lakhs mosquito nets from India for use in flood-ravaged Pakistan in view of the rising cases of malaria and other water-borne diseases in the 32 affected districts.
The Pakistani media reports said on Wednesday that the WHO was using financial resources provided by Global Fund to acquire the mosquito nets for Pakistan. The WHO officials said they were planning to obtain mosquito nets as early as possible and are hopeful that these would be obtained by next month via the Wagah route, the report said.
Due to the unprecedented floods, the country is scrambling to contain the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases. Health officials, who are facing difficulties in the treatment of patients, said malaria was spreading at a rapid pace in 32 flood-affected districts of Pakistan, where thousands of children are infected with the mosquito-borne disease. They said malaria has emerged as a major public health issue in flood-affected areas.
More than 1,700 people were killed, 33 million displaced, and a third of the country was submerged under water in the worst floods to hit Pakistan, brought about by unprecedented rains since mid-June. In September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that a surge in diseases like malaria could cause a “second disaster. Last week, the WHO warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in 32 districts in flood-hit Pakistan by January 2023.
According to the WHO statistics, in 2020, there were an estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 627, 000 in 2020.
(Manas Dasgupta)