The International Rescue Committee (IRC) held a closing ceremony of its leishmania Control Project, funded by UNHCR. Najam Uddin Khan, Federal Minister for Safron and Sports presided over the ceremony as the chief guest.
The IRC worked closely with the district, health department, headed by Executive District Officer (EDO) Health to build the capacity of government medical staff on diagnosis and treatment of Leishmaniasis, provide timely treatment to infected individuals and improve public awareness through aggressive mobilisation campaigns.
Some notable achievements during the five month period of the project included effectively responding to a leishmania outbreak, and providing quality training to government staff to improve knowledge and capacity in the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Najam Uddin Khan praised IRC for its work in Leishmania control and stressed the need for continued support for Refugee Affected Hosting Areas (RAHA) initiatives. The end of the ceremony was marked by handing over of the thermotherapy machine to the government health department. The IRC is a non-sectarian organisation that has been assisting refugees world-wide since 1933, and in Pakistan since the early 1980s.-PR