KARACHI: The dengue prevention and control programme in Sindh has virtually halted as the hefty funds allocated for it have again lapsed pending a cumbersome process of revalidation. At the same time the project is facing the brunt of contractors of medicines who are crying for pending payments, it emerged on Tuesday.

Sources in the provincial health ministry admitted that the programme had not been given due attention for the past two years despite the fact that thousands of people contracted the lethal disease and many perished, with a dominant majority of them resided in Karachi.

The project was first envisaged in the beginning of last year after a record 6,000 people were affected by dengue in 2013 – more than 5,000 in Karachi alone – and killed 32 of them. The provincial government allocated funds for the programme, but the money was never released and lapsed with the turning of the fiscal year.

The fund was revalidated in the last fiscal year and the money was transferred to the pro­vincial health secretary’s account earl­y this year with renewed Rs42 million em­e­rg­ency action plan called ‘De­nguePrev­ention And Control Pro­gramme, Sindh’.

However, the programme failed to be kicked off as the funds were never transferred to the programme’s account and finally they lapsed again with the turning of the last fiscal year.

Recently, the health ministry appointed the head of the programme, but with no funds available the project is effectively non-existent despite recording an awareness drive and fumigation campaign with the coordination of the city’s municipalities.

Sources in the health ministry said the programme had purchased medicines worth Rs20 million a few months back by promising the supplying contractor that the money would be repaid once the funds were released by senior authorities.

However, with the lapse of the finances and red tape for revalidation, the suppliers have warned of taking-up legal action if they are not paid for the supplied medicines.

The situation has resulted in the programme officials not using the medicines purchased and to return them if the funds do not arrive.

The situation is so frustrating for the staff concerned that they have not been paid salaries for months because of the pathetic financial situation.

Officials said it was a pilot project which would cost Rs41.774 million and was planned to run initially for four months and later it would have encompassed the entire province with a three-year mandate. Its functions included vector control, general fumigation, insecticides, indoor residual sprays and training.

Officials said such programmes aimed at enhancing the scope of the provincial dengue surveillance cell which had been working for the last few years with limited powers and reach.

So far this year dengue has affected more than 1,000 people – three of whom have died.

The provincial government was perturbed over the infliction of dengue to close to 6,000 people in Sindh in 2013 of whom 32 people died. They refused to share the exact data on the disease’s lethality last year; however, sources said 20 more people died from among more than 2,000 patients.

According to the plan devised for the programme, it would mainly cover Karachi and fleetingly take care of four other districts – Hyderabad, Larkana, Mirpurkhas and Thatta.

Officials said the districts being covered with the initial plan had been selected in accordance with the level of lethality recorded in the previous two years. They said the remaining districts would be covered in another programme, which was being prepared.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2015

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