On October 16, UNICEF reported delivering 75,000 vials of medicine to Pakistan’s health authorities to support treatment during a leishmaniasis outbreak in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Since January, the agency says, more than 10,500 cases have been reported in the province, including over 4,400 children under 16. [1]

Leishmaniasis is spread by the bite of infected sand flies and can cause skin sores. The vials were handed to the provincial health department in Peshawar and are due to be distributed through selected facilities. A local report on September 3 described shortages: the delivery does not yet show that every patient has received treatment. [1][2]