Budget insufficient to control malaria in Balochistan, says Aman.

QUETTA, April 24, 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- For stepping up more efforts for controlling malaria, Provincial Director General Health Amanullah Khan on Friday termed the funds allocated in annual budget of the provincial government for controlling malaria as insufficient in Balochistan. Addressing a press conference in connection with World Malaria Day here, the DG Health said that he had finalized PC-I as Rs245 million for allocating in the budget to control malaria, but the government deduced the amount and approved Rs134 million for controlling malaria. Later, this amount was further deduced for malaria control in Balochistan, he added. He deplored that earlier the provincial government used to allocate only Rs4 million in its budget for malaria control programme during the last year in the province which was even inadequate for a union council. He said that malaria control programme was implementing its projects in collaboration with Global Funds, an NGO, for a period of three years in the province, adding that the Global Funds would extend its cooperation on condition of satisfactory performance, otherwise, it would not release funds for malaria control programme in the province. He said that about 100 countries were in grip of malaria and Pakistan including Balochistan was not exception and isolation from malaria. About 135 million to 150 million people suffer from malaria per annum across the world out of which five million people suffer in Pakistan and 2.5 million people in Balochistan, he said, adding that one child fall victims of malaria every 30 second in the world according to WHO report. He said that it was indispensable to end mosquito carrying type of parasite, plasmodium, in order to eradicate malaria in the province. Senior officials of health department and malaria control programme were also present on the occasion.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)