Sindh is seeing growing numbers of malaria cases this month in every division, particularly lower Sindh, forcing the caretaker chief minister to direct the officials concerned to prepare a province-specific action plan to counter the mosquito-borne illness.
Taking notice of rising malaria cases, the caretaker chief minister has directed the health ministry and local government department to control the disease within one week and run a campaign against malaria.Official figures showed that 286,317 cases of high fever were reported at health facilities in the province this month.Of them, 64,519 patients tested positive for malaria — an increase of 31 per cent as compared to last month, which saw 49,112 cases.Most of these cases, according to the official data, are reported in Hyderabad division (31,891) followed by Mirpurkhas division (18,553), Larkana division (8,476), Sukkur division (2,595),ShaheedBenaziarabad (2,530) and Karachi division (474). The most affected districts were Thatta (10,182) followed by Mirpurkhas (9,621), Umarkot (6,195), Hyderabad (6,531), Larkana (4,512), Dadu (3,188), Shikarpur (2,000) Jamshoro (2,242) Badin (4,399), Sujawal (2,681), Tando Allah Yar(1,202) and Tharparkar (2,737).Official figures show that there has been a gradual increase in malaria cases over the months and the province has reported 247,799 malaria cases from January till August.
Caretaker Chief Minister Sindh Justice (Retd.) Maqbool Baqar, while taking notice of increasing malaria cases across the province here on Sunday, directed the Health Department and Local Government (LG) Department to take necessary measures to control the disease in a week. He said that most of the cases were being reported from Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Larkana and Sukkur divisions.
The caretaker CM directed the Health Department to launch a campaign against the elimination of malaria. Baqar also directed to make arrangements for the availability of malaria drugs and wards in all government hospitals. He said that the LG department should start spraying mosquito killers in their respective areas.
He further said that the Solid Waste Management Board should improve sanitation.Sindh Caretaker Chief Minister Justice (retd) Maqbool Baqar said that the Sindh Labour department has been guilty of negligence in the works of labourers welfare.
While issuing strict directives to the Labour department here, he said that Rs21 billion were in the custody of Nazir of Sindh High Court (SHC) due to a case of the labourers welfare. He said that the Labour department did not pursue the case in proper way and the aforesaid amount was stuck there. He directed the Workers Welfare Board to renovate flats of the labourers in Maymar in four months and allot those to the labourers. He further said that the Board should allot flats in Shaheed Benazirabad and Sukkur in 15 days to labourers. The Interim CM said that the labour colonies were not established in proper locations and because of that those could not become inhabitable. He said, ‘I will not tolerate any kind of lack of rights to the labourers.’Baqar said that the business organisations have to pay five percent Workers Participant Fund to the labour department, which the department had failed to collect.
While expressing his displeasure over the performance of the Sindh Labour department and its Workers Welfare Board, the Interim CM said that he would review the directed measures and take strict action against the officers, it they failed to adhere to the directives. He had also convened a meeting of the department next week.
