Saturday, April 26, 2008, Rabi-ul-Sani 19, 1429    

Global Fund approves $ 22m for malaria control

SHR Jahfery

Islamabad—Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari said that the Government of Pakistan has demonstrated its commitment by allocating considerable resources for initiating RBM implementation in various parts of the country on priority basis.

Khushnood Akhtar Lashari stated this while inaugurating “Commemoration of Ist World Malaria Day in Pakistan”, organized by Malaria Control Programme Pakistan in collaboration with WHO, here Friday.

He said that the Federal PC-1 for the next 5 years is 560 million Rupees. All the provinces have their own PC-1 allocations. Global fund has approved US $ 22 million for the control of malaria in the 19 highest risk districts across Pakistan.

Lashari added that both curative and preventive aspects of malaria control have been fully addressed. Emphasis has been on building the district capacity, developing inter-sectoral collaboration and public-private partnerships, and strengthening the behaviour change communication ( BCC). Remarkable progress in partnership building with WHO, USAID, DFID and other National and International partners has been made.

Dr. Nabeela Ali Chief of Party Pakistan Initiative for Mother and Newborns also addressed and said that mothers and the newborns are mostly vulnerable and easy prey to malaria attack.