ISLAMABAD: The Federal government has allowed the Health Ministry to import around 6.2 million mosquito nets from India citing a surge in vector-borne diseases in flood-hit areas.
According to reports from media and other sources, health officials were particularly concerned about rising Malaria cases in flood-hit areas, prompting officials at the Federal government to give go-ahead to Health Ministry for purchasing 6.2 million of mosquito nets through the World Health Organization, with the funding of the Global Fund.
The deadly Malaria onslaught, it may be mentioned here, has wreaked havoc in almost all flood-affected areas across the country, where cases of deadly ‘Plasmodium falciparum’ species of the disease were being reported on a daily basis.
Just last month, the National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination (NHS, R&C) had sought the permission of the Ministry of Commerce to procure around 7.1 million mosquito nets from India. Health officials wanted widespread provision of malaria diagnostic kits and anti-malarial drugs in the flood-affected areas.
However, the main obstacle to this effect turned out to be trade ties between the two countries since Pakistan downgraded its trade relations with India in August 2019 after India’s decision to revoke Article 370 which granted a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
