World Malaria Day was celebrated all over the world, including Pakistan, with the determination that the fight against it will be accelerated, equal health, promotion of human rights will be ensured with steadfast implementation.

On this occasion, Govt authorities said said that the government is taking appropriate measures to prevent and eliminate malaria. Despite this, 1 million people are affected by malaria every year in the country.

Everyone should have access to free treatment facilities. All stakeholders, policy makers, donors, people from all walks of life including health care should participate in the fight against malaria.

Although the malaria control program in Pakistan was started in 1950, various programs have been introduced to eradicate it, but its complete control is still a challenge.

The months from August to November are very dangerous for malaria. Unfortunately, the devastating floods in 2022 led to an unprecedented increase in malaria cases in various parts of the country.

Last year, more than four lakh cases of malaria were reported in Pakistan.

According to the World Health Organization, it has become the second major epidemic in the country due to climate change. After the floods, Pakistan saw the highest increase in malaria cases in the world.

Of the 5 million additional cases worldwide between 2021 and 2023, 2.1 million were found in Pakistan.

Malaria is also known as the disease of the poor. It mostly affects people living in rural areas who are unable to take preventive measures, unable to go to doctors and get diagnosed through expensive laboratories.

It is necessary to be aware of the symptoms, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of this disease.

Meanwhile, media reports say that 20,000 cases of malaria have been reported in Hyderabad and Sukkur divisions alone last year, while 828 dengue patients were also  brought to hospitals, but no death has been reported.

Malaria and dengue fever are caused by the bite of two different species of mosquito. Ignorance, climatic conditions, lack of sanitation and lack of preventive measures in rural areas lead to breeding of all kinds of mosquitoes.

Malaria and dengue tests are expensive and beyond the reach of the poor. This is why malaria is called a disease of the poor.

Meanwhile, cases of dengue fever are increasing rapidly in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal capital Islamabad, and the coming two months are likely to increase and spread.

Unusual rains are going on across the length of the country due to which rain water is standing in many places these days which needs to be drained immediately. In rural areas, the majority of the population sleeps in the summer season with windows and doors open or in the open.

In this context, while the health department and local authorities should ensure mosquito spray, the citizens themselves should protect their homes from mosquitoes.

A minimum of mosquito repellent should be used. The specific dengue mosquito lays its eggs in clean water, so clean water containers in homes should be well covered to prevent the breeding of this mosquito.

On the other hand, dengue fever is also spreading rapidly in the country, especially in Rawalpindi, the number of its patients is increasing rapidly. Before the situation gets out of control, the provincial health departments and the local bodies should take concrete steps to tackle malaria and dengue with immediate attention. Malaria is spread by mosquitoes and its alarming rate worldwide can be estimated from the statistics given, according to which 350 to 500 million people are infected and 1 to 3 million die each year. 

The reasons for its prevalence are generally linked to poverty.

The World Health Organization has expressed the fear of an increase in the rate of malaria and dengue due to unusual rains in Pakistan.  Symptoms of malaria include high fever with chills and severe body aches. The mosquito is the eternal enemy of man, the effective way to prevent it is to stop its breeding.

Citizens can be protected from it by spraying mosquito repellent inside their houses, by putting nets on the doors and windows.

Poor sewage system is also a major breeding ground for mosquitoes, so the local bodies of the country have to ensure mosquito spraying and other measures.

A large-scale awareness campaign together with anti-dengue measures is need of the hour to control the menace before it spirals out of control. There is also needed to prevent misinformation about dengue and to encourage people to take precautions. For instance, many people believe that the dengue mosquito can bite only at dawn and dusk as it is active only at that time. But research suggests that the Aedes mosquito which cause the spread of dengue bites are active during the day as well, especially two hours after sunrise and before sunset. It may be mentioned here that the country has been facing many outbreaks of dengue since 1994, with some big outbreaks reported in 2005, 2011 and 2019 and this year could also become a major outbreak.

Meanwhile, the medical experts say  that in the wake of unusual rains, the next two months would be extremely crucial as not only Malaria but the spread of other diseases is also looming large and emergent steps are needed to avert the danger.

Meanwhile, the Skin infection is also on the rise beside abdominal disease after the unusual rains in Balochistan, particularly Gwadar, where rain has plaved havoc in recent weeks and the situation can become out of control if immediate steps were not taken. To start with, the Federal and provincial government must ensure anti-dengue mosquito sprays at the hotspots in the urban centres and other districts to control the situation in the early-monsoon scenario.

One wonders what will become of the citizens in the post-rain conditions, particularly in the urban centres  where the population explosion has plaved havoc with civic infrastructure.

Published in The Daily National Courier, April, 30 2024

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