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GOVT ADVISES PUBLIC AGAINST WORRYING AS MPOX SURVEILLANCE, SCREENING ENHANCED Sunday, 18 August, 2024 I | 12 Safar, 1446
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PM’S COORDINATOR SAYS ENHANCED SURVEILLANCE AND SCREENING MECHANISMS PUT IN PLACE AT ALL AIRPORTS AND POINTS OF ENTRY
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Rs 20.00 | Vol XV No 49 I 8 Pages I Islamabad Edition
PM DIRECTS NCOC TO REMAIN ALERT AND EVALUATE SITUATION DAILY
TASKS NATIONAL CENTRE WITH ENSURING ALL REQUIRED GADGETS, KITS FOR EVALUATING VIRUS
KP’s first diagnosed monkeypox patient reported missing from home in Mardan MARDAN/ KARACHI STAFF REPORT
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ISLAMABAD STAFF REPORT
RIME Minister’s Coordinator for Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad has announced that the government has formulated a comprehensive strategy to protect the people from mpox, advising the public against worrying. Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday, the PM’s coordinator stated that people need not worry as only one case was reported in the country. “Enhanced surveillance and screening mechanisms have been put in place at all airports and points of entry”, Dr Ahmad informed, adding that laboratories were allocated for diagnosis in all provinces and the federal capital. The PM’s coordinator said cases were reported from Africa and travellers from Africa, America and the Gulf countries would be monitored.
Mpox, formerly monkeypox, can spread through close contact. Usually mild, it is fatal in rare cases. It causes flulike symptoms and pus-filled lesions on the body. The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a global public health emergency on Wednesday after the new variant of the virus was identified. Dr Ahmad said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the federal capital and provinces have taken steps on a joint priority basis. He said the Ministry of Health was ensuring continuous monitoring on a daily basis and the government was closely monitoring the situation. He said the ministry was in full contact with the provinces and a daily meeting was being conducted on the prime minister’s instructions. Dr Ahmad appealed to the public to isolate at home if their family had a travel history or mpox symptoms.
The first mpox patient in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa went missing from his home in Mardan while the Sindh Health Department issued an infection control alert to prevent the infection’s spread in private and government hospitals of Karachi. According to the health department, the individual, who had returned from Saudi Arabia, was diagnosed with carrying mpox virus in Peshawar. However, when a medical team visited the patient’s residence to provide guidelines, the house was found locked. Further inquiry with the District Health Officer (DHO) of the patient’s native area in Dir revealed that the patient was not present there either. The health ministry and relevant authorities are now intensifying their investigation and response efforts. The World Health Organization has declared recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern after a new variant of
Dr Ahmad instructed the public to contact a qualified doctor and follow their instructions in case of showing any symptoms of mpox. He said that symp-
the virus has been identified. Pakistan has had cases of mpox, also called monkeypox, previously. It was not immediately clear which variant was detected in the patients. Global health officials on Thursday confirmed an infection with a new strain of the mpox virus in Sweden and linked it to a growing outbreak in Africa, the first sign of its spread outside the continent a day after the World Health Organization declared the disease a global public health emergency. The WHO on Wednesday declared the outbreak in Africa a public health emergency of international concern, its highest level of alert, after cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo spread to nearby countries. There have been 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths, mainly among children, in Congo since the current outbreak began in January 2023. The disease, caused by the monkeypox virus, can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever and can make some people very ill, the WHO website says.
toms could take 10 to 15 days to appear and spending too much time with the patient could spread the infection.
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Govt hands over home-grown economic development plan to Dar for review PROFIT
STAFF REPORT
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a seven-member ministerial committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, to develop the draft of a “home-grown economic development plan” and review the work of UK economist Stefan Dercon regarding Pkaistan’s growth. As per a media report, this move comes following the PM’s dissatisfaction with the work of Stefan Dercon, whose involvement in drafting Pakistan’s growth agenda has sparked criticism from independent economists in the country. Dercon had drafted the “home-grown” growth agenda under the supervision of Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who initially chaired the committee on the economic plan. The ministerial committee will review and reassess the draft of the Dercon Plan. Its members include Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister of Information Atta Ullah Tarar, Minister of State for Finance Ali Pervaiz Malik and Lt General Sarfraz Ahmad, the national coordinator of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). Dar chaired the committee’s first meeting, where it was agreed to review the Dercon Plan in light of the PMLN’s manifesto and the Planning Commission’s 5Es framework. The committee will also incorporate feedback from stakeholders and meeting participants to ensure a robust and cohesive draft plan as inconsistencies and a lack of cohesion were noted in the draft. The committee will align sectoral plans with the principles of the home-grown economic development plan and may re-engage Stefan Dercon if needed. Based on the committee’s work, the prime minister is expected to announce an economic plan for the remainder of his government, focusing on reducing inflation to single digits. Dercon’s plan links sustainable 6% annual growth and $60 billion in exports to the strict implementation of reforms and strong political will. However, the plan largely reiterates points already highlighted by Pakistani economists and government reports, such as the need for private investment, export orientation, and sufficient tax revenue.