ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) has issued an eight-month performance report of its Common Management Unit (CMU) claiming that it managed to approve PC-I worth Rs2 billion.

According to its website, the CMU aims at accelerating the national and provincial response to control AIDS, TB and malaria and subsequently eliminate the three deadly diseases as per the government’s commitment to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

The report from October last year to June this year shows success stories during the tenure of acting head of CMU Mustafa Jamal Kazi, who is Joint Secretary Health, but has been heading CMU for almost nine months.

It claims that the current leadership has strengthened coordination with all relevant stakeholders, including provinces, UN and development partners and community representatives, as evidenced by technical working group meetings regarding HIV, malaria and TB.

A control room has also been established at the CMU to support and facilitate consultants regarding programme review, funding request proposals, strategy development. Besides, a review of all the three programmes (AIDS, TB and malaria) has been done.

While discussing the HIV programme, the report claimed that there were 52 antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres which had been increased to 80 centres.

Over 124 million cell phone users were reached out through Pakistan Telecommunication Authority on World AIDS day and Pakistan Cricket Board was also taken onboard for the awareness in December last year.

The report claimed that the facility of free of cost diagnostic and treatment was provided to over 339,000 TB patients. Moreover, CMU has planned TB prevalence survey, patient cost survey and drug resistant survey. It engaged over 8,000 general practitioners, over 300 large private hospitals and over 400 private laboratories for the public awareness and treatment of patients.

About malaria-related performances, it claimed that in the context of 2022 flood emergency in the country which resulted a malaria outbreak in approximately 43 districts of Pakistan, CMU secured a grant of $30 million from Global Fund to support flood emergency response activity in regards of malaria, TB and HIV.

Meanwhile, according to a statement, Secretary Health Iftikhar Ali Shallwani met Mark Edington, Head of the Grant Management Division, and Izaskun Gaviria, fund portfolio manager Global Fund (GF), in Geneva.

The secretary appreciated the support and role of GF to extend the grant of $284 million for the period from 2024-26 for the TB, HIV/AIDS and malaria programme.

The secretary stressed that Pakistan may be allowed to manage fund and revive its role as the principal receipt of the grant for HIV.

“The Global Fund has a longstanding partnership with Pakistan. Over the last 20 years, they have invested $697 million in Pakistan and is the country’s biggest donor to fight HIV/AIDS and TB, reinforce health systems and provide support to fight Covid-19 and flood response activities,” it stated.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2023