Pak to purchase over 6 million mosquito nets from India to contain rising cases of malaria: Report
Islamabad, Oct 11: Pakistan's health ministry has approved the purchase of over 6 million mosquito nets from India, as the country scrambles to contain the spread of malaria and other vector-borne diseases due to the unprecedented floods, according to a media report on Tuesday.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is using financial resources provided by Global Fund to acquire the nets for Pakistan, Geo.tv report said.
The WHO officials said they are planning to obtain mosquito nets as early as possible and are hopeful that these would be obtained by next month via the Wagah route, the report said.
More than 1,700 people were killed, 33 million displaced and a third of the country was submerged under water in the worst floods to hit Pakistan, brought about by unprecedented rains since mid-June.
In September, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that a surge in diseases like malaria can cause a "second disaster."
Last week, the WHO warned of 2.7 million malaria cases in 32 districts in flood-hit Pakistan by January 2023.
"Malaria is spreading at a rapid pace in 32 flood-affected districts of the country where thousands of children are infected with the mosquito-borne disease," officials said.
Pakistan's health ministry had sought permission to procure mosquito nets from India last month, the report said.
The official said they had requested the Global Fund for the arrangement of mosquito nets for the 26 most-affected districts of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, where Plasmodium Falciparum cases were reported.
In response, it offered to procure these nets from India if the Pakistan government approved such a move.
Relations between India and Pakistan have been strained over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
Bilateral ties nosedived after India abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories on August 5, 2019.
Following India's decision, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian envoy.
Trade ties between Pakistan and India have largely been frozen since then.
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IPL first phase schedule announced amid travel concerns caused by war in West Asia
New Delhi (PTI): Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL 2026 opener in Bengaluru on March 28 as the BCCI announced the first phase of the tournament schedule amid concerns around players' travel arrangements due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.
All matches scheduled at the Chinnaswamy Stadium remain subject to clearance from the Karnataka government appointed expert committee, which is scheduled to meet on March 13 to assess venue preparedness in the wake of the deadly stampede at the stadium last season.
The BCCI announced the schedule of the first 20 games on Wednesday and will unveil the full schedule once the dates of elections in three states -- Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal -- are announced.
Besides the state elections, the escalating conflict in West Asia will also be at the forefront of BCCI officials' minds. The war has wreaked havoc to international travel with operations of major airports like Doha and Dubai being heavily restricted.
As a result of that, some of the squad members of South Africa and West Indies are yet to reach home a week after the completion of their T20 World Cup campaign.
It remains to be seen if IPL bound players of those two nations report to their respective teams in time.
"There was a substantial delay in departure of West Indies and South Africa players. It would be a tough task to get them back to India on time. Plus the airfares have gone up substantially due to the war in West Asia," a team official told PTI.
Additionally, hotels across India are facing cooking gas shortage due to the raging conflict and on Tuesday, the central government invoked Essential Commodities Act to ensure uninterrupted supply of domestic cooking gas.
Chennai Super Kings CEO Kasi Viswanthan told PTI that he is expecting his players from the West Indies and South Africa -- Akeal Hossein and Dewald Brevis, to join the team well before their IPL opener.
"We are expecting no delays from their end," he said.
The second game of the opening weekend will see Mumbai Indians host Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium and the opening weekend will not feature any double-headers.
A total of 20 matches will be played across 10 venues: Bengaluru, Mumbai, Guwahati, New Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
"During the season, Royal Challengers Bengaluru will play five home matches in Bengaluru and two in Raipur. Punjab Kings will play four home matches in New Chandigarh and three in Dharamshala, while Rajasthan Royals will play three home matches in Guwahati and four in Jaipur," said the BCCI in a statement.
"During this period (the first 16 days), the tournament will feature four double-headers, with the afternoon matches beginning at 03:30 PM IST and the evening matches commencing at 07:30 PM IST.
"Following the opening encounter on Saturday, Mumbai Indians will take on Kolkata Knight Riders at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
"The matches scheduled in Bengaluru are subject to clearance from the Expert Committee constituted by the Government of Karnataka," the BCCI added.
