ISLAMABAD, Dec 2: Members of an American Refugee Committee (ARC), including several health experts has arrived in Pakistan to assess tuberculosis (TB) treatment needs and methodologies among Afghan refugees.

“We will assess whether we can contribute significantly in mitigating tuberculosis in Pakistan,” said ARC interim executive director, Joe Bock, a member of the team.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO) officials, the high infection rate among refugees on both sides of Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan is alarming.

In the 1980s, ARC was instrumental in developing an internationally recognized tuberculosis mitigation and treatment programme for refugees. The group will meet with international health officials in Islamabad, Peshawar and Quetta till December seven.

Other members of the visiting team include: Clifton E Barry, chief of the tuberculosis research section, Laboratory of Host Defences, National Institutes of Health Rockville; Dr Rashid Chotani, director of the Global Infectious Diseases Surveillance and Alert System Baltimore; Dr Anne Goldfeld, ARC board member and investigator for The Centre for Blood Research Boston; Nancy Roberts, ARC board member Illinois; Sok Thim, director of the Cambodian Health Committee Cambodia.