
Over 600 drug addicts held in Peshawar
Most of these areas, once occupied by groups of addicts, were found vacant during the visit. Commissioner Mehsud expressed satisfaction over the significant clearance of drug addicts from these public spaces.
Meanwhile, medical examinations of the individuals currently housed in rehabilitation centers have begun. As part of the initial medical assessment, blood samples are being collected and tested for 29 different substances to determine the type of drugs used, enabling targeted treatment plans.
In addition to drug screening, tests are also being conducted for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Separate wards have been designated in rehabilitation centers for patients diagnosed with such conditions.
Commissioner Mehsud expressed satisfaction with the progress of the initiative and directed administrative officers to visit rehabilitation centers at different times on a daily basis.
He emphasized the importance of monitoring the facilities and ensuring that patients receive adequate care and support throughout their recovery journey.

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Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Over 14m people could die from US foreign aid cuts
PARIS: More than 14 million of the world's most vulnerable people, a third of them small children, could die by 2030 because of the Trump administration's dismantling of US foreign aid, research projected on Tuesday. The study in the prestigious Lancet journal was published as world and business leaders gather for a United Nations conference in Spain this week hoping to bolster the reeling aid sector. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) had provided over 40 percent of global humanitarian funding until Donald Trump returned to the White House in January. Two weeks later, Trump's then-close advisor — and world's richest man — Elon Musk boasted of having put the agency 'through the woodchipper'. The funding cuts 'risk abruptly halting — and even reversing — two decades of progress in health among vulnerable populations', warned study co-author Davide Rasella, a researcher at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). 'For many low- and middle-income countries, the resulting shock would be comparable in scale to a global pandemic or a major armed conflict,' he said in a statement. Looking back over data from 133 nations, the international team of researchers estimated that USAID funding had prevented 91.8 million deaths in developing countries between 2001 and 2021. That is more than the estimated number of deaths during World War II, history's deadliest conflict. The researchers also used modelling to project how funding being slashed by 83 percent — the figure announced by the US government earlier this year — could affect death rates. The cuts could lead to more than 14 million avoidable deaths by 2030, the projections found. That number included over 4.5 million children under the age of five — or around 700,000 child deaths a year. For comparison, around 10 million soldiers are estimated to have been killed during World War I. Programmes supported by USAID were linked to a 15-percent decrease in deaths from all causes, the researchers determined. For children under five, the drop in deaths was twice as steep, at 32 percent. USAID funding was found to be particularly effective at staving off preventable deaths from disease. There were 65 percent fewer deaths from HIV/AIDS in countries receiving a high level of support compared to those with little or no USAID funding, the study found. Deaths from malaria and neglected tropical diseases were similarly cut in half. Study co-author Francisco Saute of Mozambique's Manhica Health Research Centre said he had seen on the ground how USAID helped fight diseases such as HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. 'Cutting this funding now not only puts lives at risk — it also undermines critical infrastructure that has taken decades to build,' he stressed. A recently updated tracker run by disease modeller Brooke Nichols at Boston University estimates that nearly 108,000 adults and more than 224,000 children have already died as a result of the US aid cuts. That works out to 88 deaths every hour, according to the tracker. After USAID was gutted, several other major donors, including France, Germany and the UK, followed suit in announcing plans to slash their foreign aid budgets. These aid reductions, particularly in the European Union, could lead to 'even more additional deaths in the coming years,' study co-author Caterina Monti of ISGlobal said.


Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Express Tribune
Over 600 drug addicts held in Peshawar
The number of drug addicts taken into custody has surpassed 600 as the fourth phase of the "Drug-Free Peshawar" campaign continues. Commissioner Peshawar Division, Riaz Khan Mehsud, along with Deputy Commissioner Peshawar, Sarmad Salim Akram, conducted a late-night inspection of key areas in the city that were previously known hotspots for drug addicts. Most of these areas, once occupied by groups of addicts, were found vacant during the visit. Commissioner Mehsud expressed satisfaction over the significant clearance of drug addicts from these public spaces. Meanwhile, medical examinations of the individuals currently housed in rehabilitation centers have begun. As part of the initial medical assessment, blood samples are being collected and tested for 29 different substances to determine the type of drugs used, enabling targeted treatment plans. In addition to drug screening, tests are also being conducted for HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases. Separate wards have been designated in rehabilitation centers for patients diagnosed with such conditions. Commissioner Mehsud expressed satisfaction with the progress of the initiative and directed administrative officers to visit rehabilitation centers at different times on a daily basis. He emphasized the importance of monitoring the facilities and ensuring that patients receive adequate care and support throughout their recovery journey.


Business Recorder
16-06-2025
- Business Recorder
UN slashes global aid plan over ‘deepest funding cuts ever'
GENEVA: The United Nations said Monday it was drastically scaling back its global humanitarian aid plans because of the 'deepest funding cuts ever' — leaving tens of millions of people facing dire straits. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was seeking $29 billion in funding for 2025 compared to the $44 billion originally requested in December, in a 'hyper-prioritised' appeal. Since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January, the United States — the world's top donor — has heavily slashed foreign aid, causing havoc in the humanitarian sector across the globe. Drastic US funding cuts have had dramatic consequences for emergency aid, vaccination campaigns and the distribution of drugs to fight AIDS. Other major donor countries have also cut back their contributions in the face of an uncertain economic outlook. 'Brutal funding cuts leave us with brutal choices,' OCHA chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement. 'All we ask is one percent of what you chose to spend last year on war. But this isn't just an appeal for money — it's a call for global responsibility, for human solidarity, for a commitment to end the suffering.' In late April, while visiting a hospital in Kandahar in Afghanistan, Fletcher warned: 'Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about... The impact of aid cuts is that millions die.' With 2025 nearly halfway through, the UN has received only $5.6 billion out of the $44 billion originally sought for this year — a mere 13 percent. In total, the original plan covered more than 70 countries and aimed to assist nearly 190 million vulnerable people. Even so, that plan acknowledged there were 115 million people the UN would not be able to reach. 'We have been forced into a triage of human survival,' Fletcher said Monday. The mathematics 'is cruel, and the consequences are heartbreaking'. 'Too many people will not get the support they need, but we will save as many lives as we can with the resources we are given,' he said. Aid will now be directed so that it can 'reach the people and places facing the most urgent needs', with those in 'extreme or catastrophic conditions' as the starting point, said Fletcher.