As the nation struggles to stop the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases as a result of the historic floods, Pakistan’s health ministry accepted 6 million mosquito nets from India on Tuesday, according to a media source.
According to Geo Tv, the World Health Organization (WHO) is purchasing the nets for Pakistan using financial resources granted by Global Fund.
The WHO representatives stated that they were hoping to receive mosquito nets by the end of next month via the Wagah route and that they were aiming to do it as soon as possible.
The biggest floods to ever hit Pakistan, caused by enormous rainfall since mid-June, resulted in more than 1,700 fatalities, 33 million homeless people, and the submersion of a third of the nation.
A “second calamity” might be brought on by an increase in diseases like malaria, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in September.
The WHO issued a warning last week predicting 2.7 million cases of malaria in 32 districts of flood-stricken Pakistan by January 2023.
According to officials, thousands of children are infected with the mosquito-borne disease called malaria in 32 flood-affected districts of the country.
According to the article, Pakistan’s health ministry requested approval last month to purchase mosquito nets from India.
The source said that after receiving reports of Plasmodium Falciparum cases in 26 of Sindh’s, Punjab’s, and Balochistan’s most hit districts, they had asked the Global Fund to arrange for the distribution of mosquito nets.
It replied by offering, if the Pakistani government would permit it, to buy these nets from India. Kashmir and the cross-border terrorism that comes from Pakistan have strained ties between India and Pakistan.
After bilateral relations drastically deteriorated. On August 5, 2019, India repealed Article 370 of the Constitution, revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and divided the state into two Union Territories.
Pakistan cut off diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy as a result of India’s decision. Since then, Pakistan and India’s trade relations have mainly been put on hold.