The Planning Commission on Thursday vowed to work with provinces to coordinate response to the dengue outbreak. In this regard, World Health Organisation (WHO) has been working with the provinces on the recommendation of the Planning Commission, while a WHO Mission from Thailand has also been visiting Pakistan. The mission had a briefing session at the Planning Commission in Islamabad on Thursday and shared its recommendations after visiting Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, says a press release. The Planning Commission has decided to share the suggestions with provinces for incorporating into their strategies.
Planning Commission Senior Advisor Dr Ishfaq Ahmed, while chairing the first session with the Thai Mission, said dengue fever posed a serious challenge for not only Pakistan but more than 100 countries around the world, as 50 million people contract dengue worldwide every year. He pointed towards the linkages between diseases outbreaks with climate change and said the recommendations by the WHO Mission will be shared with provinces.
Planning Commission Acting Secretary Chaudhry Muhammad Azam Sama chaired the second session and stated that the subject of health had been devolved to provinces with function of planning and coordination being assigned to the Planning Commission, which provided technical support to provinces on dengue control through its Contact Group in collaboration with the WHO.
Planning Commission Advisor Health Dr Talib Lashari said a ‘Working Paper on Need Assessment’ on Dengue Control had been prepared, which outlined technical and financial needs of provinces. He pointed out that dengue outbreak was an example on how federal tier worked with provinces in the wake of devolution.
WHO Medical Officer Dr Rana Kakar SAID the need for strengthening coordination between THE government and technical agencies, like WHO, in the wake of devolution. Kakar recommended following the WHO guidelines on vector control.
Prof. Siripen Kalayanarooj and Rasana, the members of the mission from Thailand, informed that they conducted training sessions in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, where 453 doctors and nurses were trained in dengue treatment. Apart from trainings, they held medical audit of deaths in Karachi and Lahore.
The mission suggested recommended strengthening clinical case management through focused trainings on I/V fluids management, timely blood transfusion, monitoring by nurses, use of dengue charts in wards and close monitoring of patients not only at high dependency units but in all dengue wards. They also called for sufficient provision of I/V fluid 10% Dextran-40 in NSS and Micro-centrifuge for HCT in every dengue control ward.
PMRC Executive Director Dr Huma Qureshi stressed the need for to identify through research the issues around deaths from dengue. There was a need to work with private sector on standardization of blood transfusion and platelet transfusion.
Dr Muhammad Tariq, the country director of USAID Deliver Project, suggested developing a proper information system and data management at primary and secondary levels.
