Global Fund to provide emergency services to 1.3m returnees

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Global Fund has approved over US$4.7 million in emergency funding to deliver HIV, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria services to 1.3 million Afghans returning from Pakistan.

In a statement, the Global Fund said the US$4.7 million in emergency funds will be added to a US$66 million grant that started on  January 1, 2024 for a period of three years. The grant is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

“The anticipated 1.3 million people represent over three percent of Afghanistan’s population,” said Annelise Hirschmann, Head of the Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean Department at the Global Fund.

“This steep increase in population, especially in the rural and hard-to-reach areas bordering Pakistan, represents an epidemiological risk and cannot be accommodated without reinforcing essential HIV, TB and malaria services.”

The emergency funds will be used as follows:

Malaria: Diagnostics, provision of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) for people who settle in areas where malaria prevalence is high, and refresher training sessions for people living in low-risk provinces to avoid the spread of malaria from people arriving from high-risk areas in Pakistan.

TB: Establishment of point-of-care facilities at the border with testing equipment, expansion of active case finding, integrated sample transportation, prevention, and treatment.

HIV: Voluntary testing at the border entry points, counseling, and continued treatment for displaced people.

“We already have systems in place to address the immediate needs of the returnees who are at increased risk of HIV, TB and malaria,” said Stephen Rodriques, Resident Representative of UNDP Afghanistan. “With this emergency funding from the Global Fund, we can help further minimize health risks to the returnees, who are already in a precarious situation. We welcome this decision and look forward to a continued partnership with the Global Fund.”

Malaria

The returnees from Pakistan are at risk of malaria and dengue because they are coming from malaria-endemic areas in Pakistan. The border areas between the two countries are also considered high-risk for malaria and other vector-borne diseases.

It is estimated that 390,000 returnees will settle in provinces at high-risk for malaria (Nangarhar and Laghman), and 910,000 will settle in provinces considered low-risk for malaria (Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz and others).

The main malaria interventions will include the distribution of 216,700 LLINs through mass campaigns, 19,500 LLINs through continuous distribution for pregnant women in antenatal care, indoor residual spraying in the low- and high-risk provinces for the control of malaria outbreaks, and the provision of diagnostics.

HIV

A Global Fund-supported mobile clinic will provide key interventions including information and awareness of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) at the Torkham and Spinboldak border crossing sites, as well as counseling for people living with HIV and people who use drugs.

The mobile clinic will also provide voluntary testing for HIV and other STIs, and the provision of antiretroviral drugs to people living with HIV and linkages to the antiretroviral therapy (ART) sites in the provinces.

TB

Approximately 10,400 cases of TB are expected among the returnee population upon their arrival. In addition, the living conditions of the returnees are such that they may be at risk of developing TB once in Afghanistan.

ma