MSF establishes satellite clinic

PESHAWAR: The Médecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) has established a satellite clinic at Rural Health Centre (RHC) Badaber to expand medical care of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) in Peshawar district.

A press release said that the satellite clinic was set up in collaboration with the health department, government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to reach out to the infected and vulnerable people and increase diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by a parasite transmitted by the bite of an infected female phlebotomine sandfly.

The disease appears in the form of a small lesion and, if not treated, can cause severe physical disfigurement. It is not life-threatening but may expose patients to stigma and discrimination in their community. Cutaneous leishmaniasis is one of the main tropical diseases in Pakistan.

The new satellite clinic is designed to provide treatment to infected people in the outskirts of Peshawar. The clinic at RHC Badaber will receive patients who are diagnosed at MSF’s cutaneous leishmaniasis clinic in the Government Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital (GNKBMH).

The treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis requires a daily or biweekly injection during three to eight weeks, depending on the severity. In the past, MSF has seen patients not completing their treatment as travelling long hours every day is difficult and expensive for them.

The satellite clinic at RHC Badaber allows patients to continue treatment close to their communities. MSF plans to open one other satellite clinic in BHU Tellaband later this year. Diagnosis and treatment of CL at MSF’s facilities are free of charge for patients. Delphine Convert, MSF’s project coordinator in Peshawar, says ‘The satellite clinics are part of the extended support to the health department to improve access of the community to free specialized Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (CL) care in Peshawar district. The clinics will help to counter the burden of increasing cases in the district.