KARACHI: Despite official claims of intensified anti-dengue measures, Sindh is facing a worsening dengue situation that underscores chronic administrative neglect, systemic inefficiencies, and a dangerous disconnect between government statements and on-ground realities.
According to data released by the Sindh Health Department, the province reported 175 dengue cases in October alone, bringing the total number of reported cases in 2025 to 819. Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho maintained that daily fumigation and spraying operations are underway across all divisions, including Karachi, and that hospitals have been instructed to ensure effective patient management.
However, field observations and official data discrepancies tell a different story. Investigations by Medical News Pakistan and feedback from local communities reveal that spraying operations are sporadic, inconsistent, and often symbolic, carried out in limited areas randomly — if at all.
A widening gap between policy and performance
The provincial government’s claims of a robust anti-dengue response sharply contrast with the dilapidated state of Karachi’s mosquito control infrastructure. Earlier this month, Medical News Pakistan reported that the city’s anti-dengue drive is virtually paralyzed, with just 18 unpaid spray workers left to cover Karachi’s population of nearly 30 million.
Over 100 positions in the Vector-Borne Disease (VBD) Department remain vacant. These few workers — employed on temporary contracts for over eight years — have gone unpaid for more than eight months. With only two or three active workers per district, large-scale fumigation or sustained vector control is practically impossible.
This administrative vacuum deepened when the VBD Department’s headquarters were relocated from Karachi to Hyderabad, effectively cutting off the city — the epicenter of dengue cases — from operational command and logistical resources.
Public health in peril amid preventable outbreaks
Public health experts warn that this failure of preventive action could precipitate a major outbreak in the post-monsoon season, between September and December, when mosquito breeding intensifies. Karachi already records hundreds of preventable cases and deaths annually due to ineffective vector management.
Ground surveys conducted by Medical News Pakistan show that stagnant water, poor drainage, and urban flooding across Karachi and other Sindh districts continue to serve as ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Despite repeated budget allocations worth millions of rupees each year, no sustained or scientifically planned anti-mosquito strategy has been implemented.
Meanwhile, selective fumigation for politically connected officials continues unabated. Spray workers disclosed that while government residences and VIP areas receive regular fumigation, entire neighborhoods across Karachi remain untouched for months, leaving residents vulnerable to vector-borne diseases.
Transparency deficit and data manipulation
Several sources within the Health Department allege that official dengue figures are routinely underreported to downplay the magnitude of the crisis. Accurate, real-time data collection and inter-departmental coordination — essential for epidemic control — remain largely absent.
Without reliable statistics, resource planning, or an empowered field response, Sindh’s dengue containment efforts remain reactive rather than preventive.
The road ahead: accountability and systemic reform
Experts and public health advocates emphasize that tackling dengue requires structural reforms, not seasonal rhetoric. Sustained vector control programs, adequate staffing, proper compensation, transparent data sharing, and modern entomological surveillance are critical to reversing Sindh’s deteriorating public health landscape.
Until then, the gulf between official claims of daily spraying and the grim on-ground reality of unpaid workers, neglected neighborhoods, and rising infections will continue to widen — leaving citizens to pay the price for administrative apathy.
