Dengue virus attacks in Pakistan every year after the monsoon season.
In 2021, there were 224 deaths from the dengue virus, and 149 deaths in 2022, while the number of patients reached close to 80 thousand.
The Global Fund, the international donor of anti-malaria, donated mosquito nets for 730 thousand people in Balochistan to the government of Pakistan to prevent the dengue virus.
Out of this shipment of mosquito nets, 3 lakh 68 thousand mosquito nets worth more than 25 crore rupees have been stolen from the government warehouse managed by the Common Management Unit in Quetta.
The Global Fund has written to the government of Pakistan, expressing serious concern over the theft of mosquito nets, demanding a comprehensive investigation and export of mosquito nets.
A letter has been written to the Federal Secretary of the Ministry of Health on behalf of the global donors, the Global Fund, a copy of which has also been sent to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Chief Minister Balochistan.
In the letter, the Global Fund has expressed deep concern over the theft of 368,000 mosquito nets from a government warehouse managed by the Common Management Unit in Quetta and said that their value is over Rs 25 crore.
The Government of Pakistan had requested the Global Fund to provide 27 million mosquito nets for 2024-26.
The letter said that these mosquito nets were transferred to a government warehouse in Quetta, the provincial capital, in January this year.
Their distribution started in July last month, however, due to theft, the mosquito nets could not be distributed in malaria-affected districts of Balochistan.
The letter stated that the insurance of the relief supplies was the responsibility of the Government of Pakistan and that the Government of Pakistan had been repeatedly warned to insure the mosquito nets, but the officials of the Common Management Unit ignored the clear instructions of the Global Fund.
According to sources, 368,000 mosquito nets were stolen from the government warehouse in Quetta in August this month, and the theft was identified by the contracted non-governmental organization Indus.
Indu’s organization has been awarded the contract to distribute 1.8 million mosquito nets in 3 major districts of Balochistan.
