A patient with leishmaniasis receives an injection25 April 2017– A training workshop on the diagnosis, treatment and management of leishmaniasis was held in Peshawar on 10 April 2017, organized by World Health Organization (WHO) and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Health. Since January 2014, 22 112 cases of leishmaniasis have been reported in the province. Training workshops are also to be organized in other provinces.
Dr Shabina Raza, Director-General of Health Services for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, noting the Department of Health’s close collaboration with WHO, expressed her appreciation to WHO for importing 50 000 doses of Glucantime medicine from France for the treatment of leishmaniasis in Pakistan.
Dr Mohammad Assai Ardakani, Acting WHO Representative in Pakistan, noted that as Glucantime was an expensive medicine, a more sustainable solution needed to be found, and suggested that the medicine be registered with the Drug Authority of Pakistan. Dr Ardakani welcomed the Social Health Insurance scheme launched by the Provincial Department of Health, noting that it will reduce the burden of disease and facilitate the access of the poor to comprehensive health care services.
Dr Ardakani and Dr Shabina Raza launched the leishmaniasis treatment campaign at the Khyber Teaching Hospital in Peshawar. Dr Nek Dad Afridi, Director of the Hospital, and Professor Dr Azar Rasheed also spoke at the event.