PMA sees governance collapse behind Sindh’s dengue tragedy
Doctors’ body for declaration of health emergency, coordinated
vector control drive, accountability of officials
IV Report
KARACHI:
As citizens across Sindh reel under a sweeping dengue outbreak, the Pakistan
Medical Association (PMA) has come down hard on what it termed a “man-made
tragedy,” holding provincial and local governments responsible for the
worsening public health emergency.
In a statement issued by its Secretary General,
Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro, on November 8, the PMA said the surge in vector-borne
diseases such as dengue and malaria, coupled with rising respiratory illnesses,
reflected “systemic dysfunction, poor governance, and administrative paralysis”
in the concerned public health and civic departments.
“The dengue crisis is not a natural disaster;
it is a man-made tragedy rooted in systemic dysfunction,” Dr Shoro stated. “The
lack of political will to ensure sanitation, waste management, and timely,
effective fumigation has turned our cities into breeding grounds for the Aedes mosquito. Every death reported is a
verdict on the failure of the Local Government and the Sindh Health
Department.”
He warned that “the situation has transitioned
from an epidemic to a full-blown crisis, fueled by a governance model unwilling
or incapable of executing basic preventive measures in both vector control and
environmental health.”
Dual
public health crisis
As of October 29, 2025
The PMA said Sindh was now facing a dual public health emergency — with
vector-borne diseases spreading rapidly and respiratory illnesses climbing
sharply in Karachi and Hyderabad due to deteriorating air quality and
environmental neglect. It noted that the absence of timely fumigation in
high-risk areas had allowed mosquito populations to multiply unchecked, while
poor sanitation, clogged drainage, and heaps of uncollected garbage reflected a
complete breakdown of local government functions.
Prolonged and poorly managed civic works, the
statement added, had worsened dust and particulate pollution, leading to a
surge in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The PMA cited
global air quality rankings placing Karachi as the world’s fourth most polluted
city on November 7, with air quality levels rated “hazardous.”
The association also criticised the
government’s flawed disease surveillance, saying the failure to collect and
share reliable data from public and private health facilities had crippled
efforts to contain the outbreak. It stressed that weak inter-departmental
coordination and delayed responses had allowed the crisis to spiral beyond
control.
Immediate
action
Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro
Urging urgent action, the PMA called on the Sindh government and the Chief
Minister to declare a health emergency in the worst-hit divisions, including
Karachi and Hyderabad. It demanded a coordinated, province-wide vector control
campaign under infectious disease experts and entomologists, improved
sanitation and waste disposal, and strict enforcement of environmental health
standards at ongoing civic projects.
The association also called for free and
accessible dengue testing and treatment in all public hospitals and an
independent audit of dengue prevention and control efforts. It further demanded
accountability of officials whose negligence, it said, had aggravated the
crisis. The PMA urged the government to “move beyond rhetoric and demonstrate,
through action, that citizens’ lives are its highest priority.”
Meanwhile, Sindh Health Secretary Rehan I Baloch said new dengue cases had shown a declining trend on November 8 compared to previous days. According to official figures, 6,199 dengue cases have been reported across Sindh so far this month, bringing the total for the year to 11,763. The provincial government confirmed a total of 25 deaths linked to dengue: 13 in October — Hyderabad 4, Tando Muhammad Khan 1, Karachi Korangi 1, Karachi Malir 3, Karachi East 2, and Karachi West 2 — and 12 in November — Hyderabad 8, Tando Allahyar 1, Karachi Keamari 2, and Karachi South 1.
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